In a retrial, the Osijek County Court found Petar Mamula guilty of physically abusing Croatian prisoners, including a Catholic priest, in September 1991.
The time Mamula spent in court detention from 6 October 2000 to 7 May 2003 will be credited towards his sentence. He has the right to appeal.
War crimes charges against five other Serbs, who had initially been given sentences ranging between two and six years in prison, were changed to charges of an armed rebellion against Croatia, which fall within the General Amnesty Act.
The trial of the six Serbs from Baranja was completed in 2002, but the Supreme Court upheld appeals filed by the accused, ordering a retrial due to errors of fact. The retrial started in January this year.