4 Former Yugoslav Army Soldiers Jailed In Montenegro For War Crimes

A court in Montenegro has sentenced four former Yugoslav army soldiers to up to four years in prison for war crimes committed against ethnic Croatian prisoners of war during the 1991-1995 Croatian conflict.

The court ruled on January 25 that the four were guilty of torturing prisoners in a makeshift prisoner camp in the village of Morinj.

The court acquitted two other suspects because of a lack of evidence.

The verdicts followed a retrial after earlier sentences had been overturned by Montenegro's Appeals Court.

Croatia's 1991 declaration of independence from Yugoslavia sparked a four-year war with Belgrade-backed rebel ethnic Serbs who opposed the move.

The Serb-led Yugoslav National Army at the time included troops from Montenegro, which was still a part of Yugoslavia.

compiled from agency reports