Bosnian Army General Jailed at The Hague

Sarajevo _ Former Bosniak general Rasim Delic, accused of commanding a unit of “mujahedeen” who allegedly committed atrocities in the Bosnian war, has been jailed by The Hague for three years.

Retired General Rasim Delic, 59, was found guilty by a first instance verdict for command responsibility.

He was sentenced for cruel treatment as a violation of the laws of the customs of war in relation to events in Livade and Kamenica Camp, where Mujahadeen forces held captured Bosnian Serb troops in July and August 1995.

Delic was found guilty on one of the four-part indictment. He was indicted for murder, inhuman treatment and rape, by his command responsibility.

He was commander of the main staff of the Bosniak (also known as Bosnian Muslim)-dominated Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1993.

Prosecutors allege he was in charge of a unit of foreign fighters known as the mujahadeen who poured into Bosnia to fight Serb and Croat forces during the 1992-1995 war.

Prosecutors say Delic failed to prevent mujahadeen fighters gunning down prisoners and beheading others.

In its closing arguments, the prosecution asked for a sentence of 15 years imprisonment because he failed to prevent or punish the crimes that, as alleged in the indictment, were committed by the members of the El Mujahid Detachment in the summer of 1993 and in autumn 1995 in Central Bosnia.

The Defence council asked for his acquittal. They contended that the El Mujahid Detachment 'cooperated with the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina' but was not under its control and command.

Between 2,000 and 5,000 foreign Muslim fighters, many of them veterans of conflicts in countries such as Afghanistan, fought in Bosnia to bolster the country's predominately Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) army in its fight against Serb and Croat forces.

Most of these fighters left the country during or immediately after the war, but a few hundred remained in the country, married and had families.

Delic surrendered himself to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in February 2005, and spent 488 days in detention.

He is one of the most senior military commanders to be tried before the Tribunal on charges of superior criminal responsibility for the crimes of murder and cruel treatment.