Ex-Bosnian Serb commander jailed over Srebrenica deaths

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - A former high-ranking Bosnian Serb soldier was sentenced on Friday to 11 years in prison for his part in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

Ostoja Stanisic, commander of the Sixth Battalion of the Zvornik Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) was convicted in a Sarajevo court of assisting in the murders of about 800 people in Petkovci village.

Stanisic was accused of knowingly providing assistance to VRS members in a plan to permanently and forcibly remove Bosniak civilians from the UN's Srebrenica safe zone during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Up to 40,000 Bosniak civilians were moved from Srebrenica; more than 8,000 men and boys were later killed.

Stanisic's deputy, Marko Milosevic -- no relation to the former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic -- was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. The Bosnian prosecutor's office announced it would appeal the acquittal.

The case against Stanisic and Milosevic began in August 2012 and took more than four years to end.