According to a press release issued by the tribunal on its web site, the accused was found liable according to his command responsibility for the unlawful attack on Dubrovnik on 6 December 1991 and was found guilty, on the basis of two counts in the indictment, of the violations of the law and customs of war over attacks against civilians and the destruction of religious and cultural buildings and historic monuments.
He was acquitted of another four counts in his indictment which alleged that he was accountable according to his command responsibility for murders, inhumane treatment, unlawful attacks on civilian targets and devastation not justified by military necessity. A trial chamber also acquitted him of his personal responsibility for the six counts in his indictment.
"The Chamber hereby sentences you to a single sentence of eight years" of imprisonment," the chamber's president, Australian Judge Kevin Parker read in the tribunal's courtroom today.
"The Accused has been in custody for 457 days. Pursuant to Rule 101(C) of the Rules, he is entitled to credit for time spent in detention so far. Pursuant to Rule 103(C) of the Rules, the Accused shall remain in the custody of the Tribunal pending the finalisation of arrangements for his transfer to the State where he shall serve his sentence," read the press release.
The chamber established that it was not Strugar but his inferior, Admiral Miodrag Jokic, who ordered the attack on Dubrovnik's Old Town on 6 December 1991.
The chamber emphasised that Strugar "is not to be sentenced for ordering the attack on the Old Town." His criminal liability arises because he "failed to take adequate measures to stop the shelling of the Old Town and because he failed to ensure that those responsible for the attack were disciplined."
Jokic, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in 2003.