Martic was convicted on 16 counts of the indictment including persecutions, murder, torture, deportation, attacks on civilians, wanton destruction of civilian areas and other crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war, the UN war crimes tribunal reported. He was acquitted on one count of the indictment charging him with extermination, the tribunal said.
In their closing argument, the prosecutors asked that Martic be sentenced to life, while the defence asked for an acquittal.
Between 1991 and 1995, Martic held positions of Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence and President of the self-proclaimed "Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina" (SAO Krajina), which was later renamed "Republic of Serbian Krajina"(RSK). He was found to have participated during this period in a joint criminal enterprise which included Slobodan Milosevic, whose aim was to create a unified Serbian state through commission of a widespread and systematic campaign of crimes against non-Serbs inhabiting areas in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina envisaged to become parts of such a state.
The Trial Chamber established that Martic exercised absolute authority over the Interior Ministry and, as RSK President, controlled its armed forces. As such, Martic was obligated to prevent or punish crimes but instead he abused his positions and promoted an atmosphere in which the non-Serb population was subjected to widespread and systematic crimes.
In addition, Martic was convicted of ordering rocket attacks on downtown Zagreb on 2 and 3 May 1995 in which seven people died and more than 200 were wounded. In several media statements, Martic admitted to having ordered the attacks.
The Trial Chamber established that the majority of the crimes of which Martic has been found guilty were committed against elderly people, against persons held in detention and against civilians. In determining the sentence, it took into account the effects of the crimes committed on victims and their families and noted that virtually the entire Croat and other non-Serb population was expelled from the area under Martic's control.
The Trial Chamber noted that Martic evaded justice for seven years in the knowledge that an indictment was issued against him. In view of this, in determining the sentence, it gave only a minimum weight to his voluntary surrender in 2002.
The initial indictment against Martic was issued on 25 July 1995. After seven years on the run, he surrendered to the Tribunal on 15 may 2002. The trial started on 13 December 2005 and concluded on 13 January 2007.
Since its first hearing in November 1994, the Tribunal has indicted 161 persons with proceedings completed in the case of 107 accused. No further indictments will be issued. It is planned that the Tribunal complete its mission by the end of 2010.