Srebrenica victims win case against Netherlands

(5 Jul 2011)
1. Wide of The Hague District Court
2. Pan interior of court to panel of judges
3. SOUNDBITE (Dutch) Ancora Dupain, Presiding Judge:
"At the end of July 13, 1995, the brother of the interpreter and the electrician were sent out of the compound by Dutchbat (Dutch Battalion). The father of the brother of the interpreter decided to go with the young boy. These three men were murdered by the Bosnian Serbs. The question the appeals court answers today is if the Dutch state should pay compensation to the relatives."
4. Close of plaintiff Hasan Nuhanovic listening
5. SOUNDBITE (Dutch) Ancora Dupain,Presiding Judge:
"The appeals court believes the state acted illegally toward the relatives of the brother and father of Nuhanovic and Mustafic and the state will have to pay compensation for that."
6. Mid of end of court session
7. Set up of Nuhanovic
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Hasan Nuhanovic, plaintiff:
"I'm after the killers of my family - the Serbs who live in Bosnia. One of them even works in the same building where I work. Can you imagine that? I have to go to my office every day to the same building and he is still there. So, it's just one of the cases I've been dealing with for the last ten-fifteen years."
(Q: "But it's a surprise for you, I guess?")
"This one? The case? It is, it is because I had negative experience in the past, so this is really a positive turn."
9. Set up of victims' lawyer, Liesbeth Zegveld
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Liesbeth Zegveld, Victims' lawyer:
"We are surprised in the sense that I didn't consider this possible within the borders of the Netherlands. I thought we had to go outside to a kind of international tribunal in order to get this established because we are all too much involved, it's too big, it's too much a trauma in our state and I though the court would not be able to disentangle themselves from the drama."
11. Set up of plaintiff Damir Mustafic
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Damir Mustafic, plaintiff:
"I'm glad. I'm really glad. It's finally, we've finally won the case and it feels good. It feels really good. I didn't expect it but hey."
13. Cutaway of journalists writing
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Karlijn Teuben, State Lawyer:
"This ruling is unexpected as far as the state is concerned. We have to study the ruling and then we will assess if further steps shall be taken."
15. Mid of media
STORYLINE
Appeal judges ruled on Tuesday that the Dutch state was responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men during the Srebrenica massacre and ordered the government to pay compensation to their relatives.
The landmark ruling could open the path to other compensation claims by victims who say they should have been protected by Dutch United Nations peacekeepers during the July 1995 mass killings by Bosnian Serb troops.
The case was brought by Hasan Nuhanovic, an interpreter who lost his brother and father and relatives of Rizo Mustafic, an electrician who was killed. The men were working for Dutch peacekeepers.
Nuhanovic said the ruling was "a relief," but he is still pursuing other cases at home in Bosnia.
"I am after the killers of my family, the Serbs who live in Bosnia," said Nuhanovic.
"One of them even works in the same building where I work ... I have to go to my office every day to the same building and he's still there. So this is just one of the cases I have been dealing with for the last 10-15
years," he said following the ruling.
Son of Rizo Mustafic said outside the court that the ruling comes just days before he is due to bury his father's remains in a Srebrenica cemetery.
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