The complaint against the decision not to prosecute Dutchbatters for the deaths of Muslim men at Srebrenica that was filed last year by Hasan Nuhanović and the family Mustafić, has been rejected by the appeals court in Arnhem. The surviving relatives are represented by lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld and Göran Sluiter.

Liesbeth Zegveld: "It is a sad day for judicial control of military operations. If this case does not call for a full investigation, then perhaps it would be better to abolish criminal law for our military forces. What everyone knew - that the Bosnian Serbs were out to get the Muslim men - the Dutchbat leadership did not know, according to the appeals court. The family Mustafić and Nuhanović were terrified on 13 July 1995, but Dutchbat did not have to fear for their fates and was allowed to send them off the compound, according to the appeals court. Whereas we continue to prosecute criminals from the Second World War, this appeals court also thinks the events in question happened too long ago. We shall submit the case to the European Court of Human Rights."

Read the decision by the appeals court here [in Dutch] and here [English translation].

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Prakken d'Oliveira, formerly known as Böhler, is a law firm with expertise and experience in asylum and immigration law, European law, administrative law, international criminal law and human rights. Our lawyers provide advice and conduct procedures before the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), the Dutch Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD), the District- and Appeals courts, the Administrative Law Division of the Dutch Council of State, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), the Human Rights Treaty Bodies of the United Nations (UN), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and other international tribunals.