Dutch Blamed for Srebrenica Deaths

Yesterday a court in the Netherlands ruled that the Dutch state was responsible for the deaths of three Bosniaks killed during the Srebrenica massacres. The court ordered the government to pay compensation to the dead men's relatives.

"The court ruled that the Dutch state is responsible for the death of these men because Dutchbat should not have handed them over," a spokeswoman for the court in The Hague said.

The court found that Dutchbat, which abandoned the enclave in the face of a superior Bosnian Serb force, should have foreseen that the men would be killed, noting that Dutchbat soldiers had already witnessed the abuse and execution of Bosniak men at the hands of Bosnian Serb forces.

The case was brought by relatives of Rizo Mustafic, who worked as an electrician for Dutchbat, and by Dutchbat interpreter Hasan Nuhanovic, who lost his father and brother in the fall of the enclave. The two men had sought refuge at the Dutchbat headquarters. Mustafic was separated from his wife outside the compound fence and has not been seen since. Hasan Nuhanovic was allowed to stay, but his relatives were forced to leave. The remains of his father and brother were recovered in 2007 and 2010 respectively.

For more information:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/07/20117585931325737.html