Convict Radislav Krstić to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in Estonia

(Patria) - Former commander of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Radislav Krstić has been transferred from the UN Detention Unit to Estonia, where he will serve the remainder of his 35-year prison sentence for aiding genocide in Srebrenica.

In an order whose confidential status was lifted after Krstić's transfer to Estonia, and was publicly released, it is stated that the Mechanism decided that he would serve the remainder of his sentence in that country.

Krstić was sentenced to 35 years in prison by the Hague Tribunal in 2004 for aiding and abetting genocide in Srebrenica.

At the end of that year, he was sent to serve his sentence in England, but he was attacked in prison there, after which he was returned to The Hague.

He was then sent to serve the remainder of his sentence in Poland, from where he was again returned to the Detention Unit in The Hague.

Detektor previously reported that the Mechanism had again rejected Krstić's request for early release.

At the time, in her decision, the President of the Mechanism, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, stated that the severity of Krstić's crimes influenced the rejection of his early release, and that the demonstration of rehabilitation needs to be more convincing the more serious the criminal behavior in question.

- I welcome the fact that Krstić has made positive progress and I believe that his public acknowledgment that genocide occurred in Srebrenica, and that he participated in it, reflects a level of rehabilitation and is significant given the rise of historical revisionism and denial of genocide in the region - Gatti Santana explained at the time.

In the decision, she also stated that she was still not convinced that Krstić had shown a sufficient degree of rehabilitation to reach the "elevated threshold", and that there was no evidence indicating the existence of compelling humanitarian reasons that could override the negative assessment.

So far, Krstić has requested early release on several occasions, which the Mechanism has rejected each time.