Dutch state held responsible for three deaths in Srebrenica massacre

An appeals court in The Hague ruled on Tuesday that the Dutch state is to be held accountable for the deaths of three Bosniak men during the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. The Bosnian Muslims involved in the case worked for Dutchbat, the Dutch peacekeeping battalion charged by the UN with defending the area. The court's decision overruled an earlier verdict that did not held the Dutch state accountable for the deaths, as the troops operated under a UN mandate.

In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb troops, led by General Ratko Mladic. The UN had declared Srebrenica a "safe area", and thousands of Bosniaks came seeking refuge in the enclave, but the Dutch troops charged with protecting it were overrun. The three Bosniaks, along with some 300 others, were handed by the Dutch to the Bosnian Serb forces, who subsequently killed them. General Ratko Mladic, commander of the forces who committed the massacre, is currently on trail for genocide and crimes against humanity. The Srebrenica massacre was the largest mass killing in Europe since World War II.

The plaintiffs in the case are Hasan Nuhanovic, an interpreter for the Dutch troops, whose father and brother were killed after being forced out of the UN compound, and the family of electrician Rizo Mustafic, who died in the same circumstances. The verdict comes just days before the remains of more than 600 victims of the Srebrenica massacre will get a proper burial. The bodies, which were exhumed from mass graves, were identified through DNA tests and will receive a funeral on 11 June.

The appeals court in The Hague ruled that the Dutch troops, who were under the "effective control" of their country's government, should not have handed the Bosniak men to the Bosnian Serbs, but should have protected them. The Dutch government will be required to pay compensation to the relatives of the three men.

The court's verdict took many by surprise, as it is reportedly the first time a state is held accountable for the actions of its forces, even though they were operating under a UN mandate. As a result of the ruling, the families of other victims may also request compensation. Dutch government lawyers said that they would have to study the ruling, before resolving whether to appeal.

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