Martic, who is serving time in a prison in Estonia, became eligible for parole consideration after serving two-thirds of his 35-year sentence. However, judge and Mechanism president Graciela Gatti Santana rejected the request, citing the gravity of the crimes committed and the lack of signs of rehabilitation.
In the court’s decision, it was pointed out that during the serving of the sentence, Martić did not show a critical review of his actions, nor did he express regret towards the victims, but continued to present himself as a political prisoner. As stated, the court also took into account his state of health, but it was assessed that he is under regular medical supervision.
In 2007, judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Martić to 35 years in prison for crimes committed in the early 1990s against Croats and other non-Serbs in Croatia. He was found guilty on 16 counts of the indictment, which include persecutions, murders, torture, deportations, attacks on civilians, wanton destruction of civilian areas and other crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war, while he was acquitted on one count related to extermination.
During the period from 1991 to 1995, Martić served as Minister of the Interior, Minister of Defense and President of the self-proclaimed SAO Krajina, later renamed the Republic of Serbian Krajina.
The court concluded that during that period he participated in a joint criminal enterprise, together with the former president of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, with the aim of creating a united Serbian state through a systematic campaign of crimes against the non-Serb population in parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
(Vijesti.ba)
