guardian
Three Muslim inmates attacked former Bosnian Serb general Radislav Krstic, 62, at Wakefield prison
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 February 2011 17.09 GMT
Three convicted killers have been given concurrent life sentences for a revenge attack on a former Bosnian Serb general in a British high-security jail.
Led by an Albanian Muslim, the trio stabbed and slashed 62-year-old Radislav Krstic in his cell at Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire, where he was serving a 35-year sentence for his part in genocide at Srebrenica.
Krstic, who has an artificial leg, survived the attack in May but was left with serious injuries including a deep wound to his neck. He was transferred to Wakefield from the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague in 2004 under the UK's treaty obligations to the United Nations.
Indrit Krasniqi, 23, Iliyas Khalid, formerly known as Christopher Braithwaite, 24, and Quam Ogumbiyi, were cleared of attempting to murder Krstic by a jury after a two-week trial at Leeds crown court. But they were convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and returned for sentencing.
Each is already serving life for murder. Krasniqi, who was born and grew up in Albania, was given a minimum of 23 years for the kidnap and killing of 16-year-old Mary-Ann Leneghan in 2005 in Reading, and the attempted murder of one of the teenager's friends.
Khalid was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years and six months for the sexual assault and murder of 23-year-old Stacey Westbury in Fulham in 2007. Ogumbiyi was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years before parole for stabbing a man to death in Hackney in 2003.
The trial heard that the three men planned the attack after learning of Krstic's arrival and his part in the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995. The murders, the worst massacre in Europe since the second world war, followed the capture of the town by a Bosnian Serb force which disarmed Dutch soldiers serving under UN command.
Mr Justice Henriques, passing sentence, told the men, who stood expressionless in the dock: "You had full knowledge of the crimes of Krstic and although that makes it possible to understand your motivation, it does not mitigate it.
"All three of you are practising Muslims. I have no doubt what you intended was an act of revenge, and crimes for the purpose of advancing a religious or racial cause or crimes which are religiously or racially motivated attract significantly higher sentences of imprisonment.
"This was also a crime of exceptional gravity. Each of you are convicted murderers serving a life sentence of imprisonment. You planned an attack upon a defenceless man with an artificial leg, aged 62."
The judge said he would have liked to extend the minimum terms of the men's existing life sentences, but the law did not give him that option. However, their time in prison would be extended because the parole board would automatically turn down their first requests.
"Each of you must expect, having committed such a grave offence in custody, that your first application to the parole board will fail. You and the public must appreciate that you will be adversely affected by the jury's finding of guilt in this case."
The judge sentenced Krasniqi to life with a specified term of 12 years, Khalid to life with a 10-year term and Ogumbiyi, who played a smaller part in the attack than the other two, to life with a six-year term.
The sentences will all run concurrently with the men's existing terms.
Krstic, a general-major in the Bosnian Serb army in the 1990s, was sentenced initially to 46 years in jail at The Hague. His conviction was reduced on appeal to aiding and abetting genocide and his prison term cut to 35 years.
A professional soldier in the former Yugoslav army, he played a prominent part in the series of wars which marked the break-up of the state. He lost his leg in 1994 after stepping on a landmine. Radio intercepts during a series of prisoner executions after Srebrenica recorded him telling a subordinate: "Kill them all Goddamit. Not a single one must be left alive."
Krstic was the first person to be convicted of genocide after the Bosnian tragedy, following his arrest by SAS troops who ambushed his car. He denied involvement and put the blame on the Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, who is still on the run.
• This article was amended on 25 February 2011. The original said that Radislav Krstic was transferred to Wakefield from the international criminal court at the Hague in 2004. This has been corrected.
guardian.co.uk
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