The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sentenced a former Bosnian Serb soldier to 20 years in prison for involvement in the execution of Bosniak POW's from Srebrenica in the summer of 1995.

A former member of a Bosnian Serb military police unit, Momcilo Tesic was found guilty of involvement in the execution of 17 Bosniak prisoners of war in the Vlasenica municipality in eastern Bosnia during the night on 13-14 July 1995, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) said.

Tesic was also charged with genocide, but the charge was dropped because the prosecution failed to prove genocidal intent. He was convicted of crimes against humanity. He can appeal the ruling. Among the witnesses who testified was a man who had managed to escape execution by firing squad.

Over 8,000 people, mostly Bosniak men and boys, were killed in the genocide at Srebrenica in July 1995 after Bosnian Serb forces under General Ratko Mladic overran the UN-protected enclave.