O-Gon Kwon during the reading of the verdict: Extermination of Bosniaks and Croats was most frequently heard in the courtroom

Special correspondent of the Patria news agency from The Hague: Sead Omeragić 

After the President of the Trial Chamber, O-Gon Kwon, publicly read the verdict against the criminal Radovan Karadžić, there was confusion among the approximately 300 observers present in the courtroom of the Hague Tribunal.

The journalist of the Patria news agency followed the sentencing from the gallery where diplomats and the Mothers of Srebrenica were seated.

On one-fifth of the space in this gallery were also representatives of the Serbian side and members of Karadžić's family, including Radovan's brother Luka Karadžić.

To ensure everything proceeded smoothly, Tribunal officials asked those present to listen to the verdict without comment. And indeed, everything passed in the greatest silence.

The fact is that Radovan Karadžić received 40 years in prison, which is the highest sentence of the Tribunal and is said to be a life sentence. So far, it has been given to Blaškić, Stakić, Krstić, and now the wartime leader of the RS.

Karadžić was found guilty on all four counts of the indictment. On all four counts, the joint criminal enterprise was confirmed.

For all the crimes he was charged with in the indictment, and in the count for Srebrenica, he was convicted of genocide. The only thing that remained disputed in the verdict was guilt for genocide in seven municipalities.

Namely, the same Trial Chamber, in the interim verdict against Radovan Karadžić, avoided such a qualification. There is no doubt that there will be room for an appeal by the Prosecution in this case, led by prosecutor Alan Tieger. 

O-Gon Kwon confirmed that Karadžić is convicted of genocide in Srebrenica. The most frequent word during the reading of the verdict by O-Gon Kwon was EXTERMINATION of Bosniaks and Croats.

The comprehensive joint criminal enterprise aimed at the permanent removal of Bosniaks and Croats has been definitively proven. We could hear this a dozen times: the joint comprehensive criminal enterprise aimed at the permanent removal of Bosniaks and Croats from the territories that Serbs designated as their own. After this, the Republika Srpska has been confirmed as a genocidal project. There is no doubt about that.

Among the people in the Tribunal who are able to measure the significance of this verdict, it is clear that something like this was expected.