Bosnian Serbs welcome released war criminal Momcilo Krajisnik home as a hero

PALE, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Singing Serb national songs and waving flags, more than 2,000 people have welcomed home convicted war criminal Momcilo Krajisnik as a national hero.

He returned to Bosnia on Friday after being granted early release from a British prison where he had served two thirds of his 20-year sentence.

Krajisnik, 68, was arrested in 2000 and convicted by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, of persecuting and forcibly expelling non-Serbs during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia. His initial 27-year sentence was reduced on appeal.

The former Bosnian Serb Parliament speaker was granted early release by the tribunal's president, Theodor Meron, in July.

Krajisnik landed Friday evening in the Bosnian Serb city of Banja Luka and a government helicopter flew him home to his wartime stronghold of Pale, near Sarajevo.