The defence attorneys announced they would appeal the ruling handed down by Zagreb County Court Judge Marjan Garac. Milic (40) was not present at today's hearing, while Belina (64) was taken into custody.
Belina and Milic were found guilty of breaking into the house of the Mileusnic family together with three fellow fighters on 18 December 1991, and shooting dead mother Vera, daughter Goranka and their neighbour Blazenka Slabak as well as inflicting serious wounds to Mileusnic's face.
The judge found that the "Tigers" had premeditated the crime because the victims were Serbs.
This was a retrial because in 2010 the Supreme Court quashed a Sisak County Court decision rejecting a verdict against Belina and Milic and their fellow fighters Ivan Grgic and Zdravko Plesec. The four were already on trial for murder and attempted murder in 1992, but the Zagreb military prosecutor dropped the prosecution of Grgic and Plesec, while the prosecution of Belina, Milic and Dubravko Leskovar, who died in the meantime, continued at the Military Court which, applying the pardons law, dropped the proceedings.
The victims' families and Mileusnic, however, pressed charges against the "Tigers" for war crimes against civilians.
In February 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the sentences against Grgic and Plesec and quashed those against Belina and Milic. Mileusnic died a few days ago.