Franko Simatović Frenki released from serving war crimes sentence due to medical treatment

(Patria) - Founder and former commander of the Special Operations Units Franko Simatović, known as Frenki, was released from serving his sentence under the Hague verdict and was released early today due to health reasons.

Let us recall, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals based in The Hague (the Mechanism) handed down final sentences of 15 years in prison each to former heads of the State Security Service of Serbia, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, charged with war crimes in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in May this year, reports "Kurir".

This was, incidentally, the longest trial in the history of this court. It lasted a full two decades.

Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović were convicted for participation in a joint criminal enterprise, which led to crimes in Bijeljina, Zvornik, Bosanski Šamac, Doboj, Sanski Most, Trnovo.

In the first-instance verdict in June 2021, Stanišić and Simatović were sentenced to 12 years in prison each, which was later changed to 15 years this year.

Stanišić was the head of the State Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia, and Simatović was his deputy. Both were arrested on March 13, 2003, in Operation Sablja.