Ex-commander of Bosnian Army dies while appealing prison sentence for cruelty

Bosnian Army’s ex-head, convicted of cruelty, dies

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnian media are reporting that the wartime commander of the Bosnian Army, Gen. Rasim Delic, has died.

Delic, 61, was awaiting a decision in his appeal of a three-year prison sentence handed down in 2008 by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Media reports Friday did not give the cause of death.

The tribunal convicted Delic of cruelty to Bosnian Serb prisoners during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. Judges found that Islamic volunteers under Delic’s command had beaten and otherwise mistreated captured Bosnian Serbs and that, although Delic never ordered the abuses, he failed to prevent them or punish the perpetrators.

Delic was the most senior Muslim Bosniak officer convicted by the court in its 17-year history.