SARAJEVO, November 1 - RAPSI, Yulia Petrovskaya. On Wednesday a Zagreb court sentenced former head of the Kerestinec Camp Stjepan Klaric to three and a half years in prison for torturing 34 Serb civilians and prisoners of war during the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, according to Serbia’s Tanjug news agency.

Several other defendants in the case were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to two years. The judge took into account the mitigating circumstances, including their behavior before the court, their poor financial position and the fact that the accused were participants in the war.

The crimes in the camp were committed from late 1991 to May 1992. It was reported that several women were also held at the camp, who were tortured and raped.

Around 80 witnesses, most of whom are victims of war crimes, testified in the trial, which lasted for seven months.

The armed conflict began after Croatia declared itself independent on June 25, 1991. During the conflict, the local forces fought against the Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb factions supported by the authorities in Belgrade. The war saw ethnic cleansing carried out on both sides and claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people out of the Croatian population of 4.7 million. The country’s territorial integrity was restored only in 1998.