Tihomir Blaškić (born November 2, 1960) was a colonel of the Bosnian Croat armed formation (Hrvatsko vijeće obrane, HVO), later a general in the Croatian army.

In 1996 the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia indicted him for crimes committed by troops under his command against Bosniaks in central Bosnia, particularly the Lašva valley, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war and crimes against humanity.

In 1996 Blaškić was told by his military superiors that it was his duty to voluntarily surrender and he reluctantly did so; his trial began in 1997. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison in March 2000.

The case was in appeal until July 2004 when the ICTY appeals panel dismissed 16 of 19 counts in the initial indictment, notably the claim that Blaškić had command responsibility for the massacre in Ahmići and that Ahmići were not a legitimate military target. The decision has left some dubieties which will have to be resolved: it did not assess the nature of Croat-Muslim war in Bosnia in 1993-1994; it accepted the defense claim that there the existed a "double chain of command".

The appeals panel did not completely dismiss him of all charges, as it reaffirmed the less serious charges of responsibility for the inhumane treatment of POWs and such.

It sentenced Blaškić to 9 years of imprisonment because of his good behavior, clear prior record, poor health, voluntary surrender and his young children. His defense applied for an early release because he served eight years and four months already, and the request was granted.

External link

• ICTY judgement