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Source: Reuters, November 23, 1994
Bosnia Camp Guard Convicted in Denmark
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 22, 1994--A 31-year-old Bosnian Muslim who entered
Denmark as a refugee was found guilty today of torturing other Muslims to
death in a prisoner of war camp in Bosnia. He was sentenced to eight years
in prison.
The Copenhagen regional court's verdict was the first in a series of war
crimes trials being held outside the former Yugoslavia.
The court found the man, Refic Saric, guilty on 14 counts of gross violence,
two of which led to the deaths of the victims.
Mr. Saric was taken prisoner along with other Muslim army volunteers in July
1993 but was promoted to guard duty in a Croat-run camp at Dretelj, near
Mostar.
During the hearings some 20 witnesses, former prisoners who recognized him
in a Danish refugee camp, testified that he had brutally mistreated
prisoners. They said he beat them up, kicked their teeth out and clubbed
them repeatedly.
Mr. Saric contended that he was a victim of mistaken identity. He was
declared mentally ill after he arrived in Denmark with his wife and two
children.
He will be given psychiatric care until he is well enough to serve time in
jail.
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