Court Rules Dutch State Responsible for Death of 300 Muslims in Srebrenica
Thousands of men and boys were massacred in Srebrenica – EPA photo.
Brussels, 4 Shawwal 1438/28 June 2017 (MINA) – An appeals court in The Hague Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling from 2014 that the Dutch state is liable for the death of over 300 Muslim men who died in the massacre of Srebrenica in 1995, KUNA reported.
The 300 men and boys were inside the Dutch military base in the Muslim enclave when it was over-run by Bosnian Serb forces and now the Dutch state must pay their relatives compensation, Dutch media quoted the court saying.
About 8000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by the Serb forces in Srebrenica in July 1995.
Surviving relatives, known as the Mothers of Srebrenica, are suing the Dutch state following the death of their men and sons.
However, the Netherlands was not found to be responsible for the death of over 7,000 other Muslim men and boys who were outside the compound.
According to the court, it would have been impossible for Dutch soldiers to have protected them when the Bosnian Serb forces began to round them up.
The Dutch soldiers in Srebrenica were part of a UN peacekeeping mission and had been charged with protecting the Muslim enclave but it was overrun by the Serbian ethnic leader Ratko Mladic’s forces.
Mothers of Srebrenica will now take their case to the European Court of Justice. (T/RS5/RS1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
