Rasim Delic, a former commander of the Bosnian Muslim army, received a three-year prison sentence at The Haque for failing to intervene in torture committed against captured Serb soldiers in the 1990s.
Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term for the former commander, The New York Times reported, though trial judges failed to find sufficient evidence to suggest Delic had the authority to intervene.
Delic is one of the most senior army commanders to face war crimes prosecution for atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnia war.
Several observers said the sentence was far too lenient, as stories emerged during the trial of Bosnian army soldiers kissing the severed heads of Serb fighters.
“The verdict has erased the minimum of our confidence in the impartiality of the Hague tribunal, which has practically lost its legitimacy among the Serb people,” Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik told reporters.
