Return of general Ante Gotovina after his acquittal by the ICTY

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague found Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač not guilty of any of the charges brought against them. The judges dismissed on appeal the charges alleging that the military operation "Storm", of which general Gotovina was operational commander, was "a joint criminal enterprise whose objective was to expel the Serb population". They also rejected the thesis about "illegal artillery attacks" during the military operations, dispelling any suspicion as to the legitimacy of the summer 1995 operation "Storm" that aimed to restore the territorial integrity of the country.

2012

16 November

Photo: HINA

Popular tribute to the acquitted generals

Upon their return to Zagreb after seven years of provisional detention, the generals acquitted by the ICTY, Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač, are welcomed as heroes by a jubilant nation after a long-awaited verdict that was received with great relief and where the sentiment of a grave injustice was finally remedied.