DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

22 May 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Dutch state is partly liable for 300 Srebrenica deaths, appeal court says

June 27, 2017
A file photo shows Dutch troops and Muslim refugees near Srebrenica in July 1995. Photo: AP via HH

The Dutch state has again been found partly liable for the death of over 300 Muslim men who died in the massacre of Srebrenica in 1995 by appeal court judges in The Hague, upholding a lower court ruling from 2014.

The 300 men and boys were inside the Dutch military base in the Muslim enclave when it was over-run by Bosnian Serb forces and now the Dutch state must pay their relatives compensation, the court said. Some 6,000 surviving relatives are suing the Dutch state following the death of their menfolk.

However, the Netherlands was not found to be responsible for the death of 7,000 plus other men and boys who were outside the compound. The court said it would have been impossible for Dutch soldiers to have protected them when the Bosnian Serb forces began to round them up.

The Dutch soldiers in Srebrenica were part of a UN peacekeeping mission and had been charged with protecting the Muslim enclave. After it was overrun by Ratko Mladic’s forces, an agreement was made on evacuating the some 30,000 Muslims who had fled to the area.

Execution

Although at first the evacuation appeared to be orderly, it later became clear the men were being taken away separately and ran the risk of being executed. Nevertheless, the Dutch military leaders decided to proceed with the evacuation even though there was a ‘real risk they could face inhumane treatment or execution’, the court said.

That decision, the court said, later proved to be wrong.

The question still remains, the court said, as to whether the men and boys within the army compound would have survived if they had remained there. Although there was a risk the Bosnian Serb army may have attacked the Dutch troops, they had not shown any violence against them up to that point, the court said.

There was, therefore, a chance that the 300 would had survived if they had not been sent away. The court estimated that chance at 30%, and therefore decided that the compensation demanded by the relatives be limited to 30% of the total.

Lower court

The ruling is largely in line with that issued by the lower court in 2014. It too said the Dutch state is only responsible for the deaths of the men and boys who were within the compound.

One of the relatives, Kada Jotic, who lost her husband, son and four brothers in the genocide, said of Tuesday’s ruling: ‘They [the Dutch] where there to protect us. It was a demilitarised zone where our men were not able to protect themselves… this will never be over for us.’

The relatives, known as the Mothers of Srebrenica, will now take their case to the European Court of Justice.

‘This is a great injustice,’ Munira Subasic of the Mothers of Srebrenica group told Reuters. ‘The Dutch state should take its responsibility for our victims because they could have kept them all safe on the Dutchbat (Dutch battalions’) compound.’

Soldiers

On Monday it emerged that some  200 Dutch army veterans are preparing to sue the Dutch state for compensation for the trauma they suffered after being sent to Srebrenica.

Their lawyer Michael Ruperti told a television talk show on Monday night the men are campaigning for a ‘symbolic’ €22,000 each – or €1,000 for every year since the Srebrenica massacre took place.

More than 20 people have been indited for their role in the massacre, including several Bosnian Serb commanders. Mladic was caught in 2011 and is on trial in The Hague for genocide and crimes against humanity. A ruling is expected later this year.

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Crime Europe
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
Fewer international students starting bachelor degrees in NL
Dutch house prices up 10% on a year ago, latest figures show
Foundations and the future: what you need to think about
Hundreds of criminal convictions undermined by admin errors
Senators set to vote against two year social housing rent freeze
NewsHomeEconomyArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now