Serbian war crimes
The week's news at a glance.
Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro
A Serbian court has convicted 14 former Serbian paramilitary fighters of massacring at least 200 Croatian prisoners of war during the Yugoslav war. In 1991, at the end of the battle for the Croatian city of Vukovar, Serb militiamen rounded up the prisoners at a hospital. They trucked the prisoners to a pig farm, then marched them in front of a firing squad in groups of seven or eight. It took two days to kill all the prisoners and bulldoze over their bodies. Most defendants got the maximum sentence of 20 years. The verdict is the first for Serbia’s war-crimes court, which was set up in 2003. “The entire proceedings were conducted in keeping with world standards,” said prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekaric, “which shows that the Serbian judiciary is capable of coping with high-profile cases.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
July 21 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump going after the Fed, Superman's immigration papers, and the Colbert canary in the coal mine
-
Thailand's monk sex scandal
In The Spotlight New accusations involving illicit sex and blackmail have shaken the nation and opened a debate on the privileges monks enjoy
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum