Conviction for crimes committed during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina in 1992
Supreme Court judgment of 13 April 2011. HR-2011-808-A, (case no. 2010/934), criminal case, appeal against judgment
A (Counsel John Christian Elden) v. The public prosecution authority (Director General Tor-Aksel Busch)
Justices: Matningsdal, Utgård, Matheson, Møse, Schei
The case concerns sentencing for 13 crimes perpetrated in 1982 during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, see the Penal Code section 223 subsections 1 and 2. The crimes were extremely serious, perpetrated against defenceless people and solely motivated by their ethnic background. The criminal acts included assault in connection with arrest and assault of persons after they were placed in a prison camp. The offences were committed over a period of approximately 4 1/2 months. Although nearly 19 years had passed since the crimes were committed, the Supreme Court held that the punishment had to be increased even beyond the plea entered by the Director General. The Supreme Court fixed the penalty to 8 years of imprisonment.