Zagreb - A Croatian court on Friday sentenced a retired general to seven years in prison for war crimes against Serb civilians during Croatia's 1991-95 war of independence. Mirko Norac, 40, currently serving a 12-year prison term for a separate war crimes conviction, was found guilty of crimes during the so-called Medak Pocket offensive in 1993 against rebel Serbs.
After the sentencing by a court in the capital Zagreb, his lawyers said they plan to appeal to Croatia's supreme court.
Another retired Croatian general, Rahim Ademi, was acquitted Friday in the Medak Pocket case.
Norac and Ademi are the highest-ranking Croatian officers to face war crimes trials in their homeland.
Both pleaded not guilty to charges that they failed to stop soldiers under their command from killing 23 Serb civilians and five prisoners of war and burning down their homes.
Their trial began in June 2007 after The Hague tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia handed over the case to Croatia.
