Bosnian Serb Acquitted of Crimes against Humanity

The arrests were carried out by Serb paramilitaries led by Milan Lukic, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague Tribunal for these and other crimes.

“After having carried out an analysis, the chamber has not been able to determine beyond reasonable doubt that defendant Popovic committed the crimes with which he is charged in the indictment,” said presiding judge Stanisa Gluhajic.

Witnesses who incriminated Popovic were not present at the crime scene and they based their testimonies on what they had heard, the court ruling said. It added that these testimonies were mostly contradictory.

It also said that it was not proven that Popovic participated in the unlawful confiscation of items from houses in Rodica Brdo, because the prosecution did not present evidence about what the alleged items were or who they belonged to.

Both the prosecution and defence can appeal against the verdict.