Bosnian Serb mass grave digger to get released

Dragan Jokic had served two-thirds of his nine-year sentence for extermination, murder and persecution, and thus qualified for release.

THE HAGUE, January 13, 2010 (AFP) - The president of the UN's Yugoslav war crimes court approved Wednesday the early release of a former Bosnian Serb army officer jailed for his role in the killings of thousands of Muslims.

Dragan Jokic had served two-thirds of his nine-year sentence for extermination, murder and persecution, and thus qualified for release, the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Patrick Robinson, said in a written decision.

"I am of the view that the early release of Jokic is appropriate, notwithstanding the gravity of the offences for which he was convicted," the judge said.

Jokic, 53, was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2005, including for overseeing the digging of mass graves with excavators for victims of executions.

As chief of engineering of the Bosnian Serb army, he so aided and abetted extermination and murder, the court found.

Jokic voluntarily surrendered to the tribunal in August 2001 and pleaded not guilty.

After his sentence was upheld on appeal in 2007, he was transferred to an Austrian prison in December 2008 to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Under Austrian law, he became eligible for conditional release after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Robinson directed the registry to inform the Austrian authorities of the court's decision, which he said "shall take effect four weeks from the date of its issuance."