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Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 3:15 PM UTC

UN appeals court acquits ex-Serb military chief

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UN appeals court acquits ex-Serb military chiefGen. Momcilo Perisic, the former chief of staff of the Yugoslav national army, awaits his appeal judgment in the court room of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday Feb. 28, 2013. Prosecutors accused Perisic of providing crucial military aid to rebel Serb forces responsible for the atrocities including the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo. Perisic's 2011 conviction and 27-year sentence marked the first time the U.N. court had found a civilian or military officer from Serbia guilty of war crimes in Bosnia. (AP Photo/Koen van Weel, Pool)(Credit: AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — U.N. appeals judges have acquitted the former chief of the Yugoslav National Army of aiding and abetting atrocities by rebel Serbs, including the Srebrenica massacre, by providing them with crucial military aid during the Balkan wars.

The ruling Thursday was a rare victory for Serbs at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, where most of the convicted suspects have been rebel Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia. It also supported Belgrade’s often-stated assertion that it did not deliberately assist in Bosnian Serb atrocities.

Gen. Momcilo Perisic, who had been sentenced to 27 years in 2011 after being convicted of crimes including murder, inhumane acts and persecution, was ordered freed immediately.

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