The Dutch state can be held responsible for the death of three men who were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, one of whom worked for the Dutch army in Bosnia, The Hague district court ruled on Tuesday.

The ruling clears the way for compensation payments to families of the men. Interpreter Hasan Nuhanovic and the descendents of electrician Rizo Mustafic say Dutch soldiers serving under the UN flag in the Muslim enclave did not do all they could to protect their relatives from the Bosnian Serb army.
Over 8,000 men and boys were murdered and buried in mass graves when the enclave was over-run.
Protection
The court said Dutch soldiers – known as Dutchbat – should not have sent the electrician and the brother of the interpreter out of the compound and should also have prevented the interpreter’s father following his son. All three men were later killed.
The court said Dutchbat had been witness to many incidents in which Muslims who came into Bosnian Serb hands were mistreated and killed. So they were aware the men would be at great risk if they were sent away.
Even though Dutchbat was working under the UN, the situation after the fall of Srebrenica was ‘extraordinary’ and the Dutch government became more involved. In that sense they were responsible, the court said.
A lower court ruled earlier that the Dutch state was not responsible for the deaths because the soldiers were operating under the UN flag. The UN itself is immune from prosecution. Another court case brought by the so-called ‘mothers of Srebrenica’ is currently challenging this immunity.
Defence ministry
The defence ministry said in a statement it would study the ruling carefully before deciding what steps to take next.
Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb leader held responsible for the massacre, is currently on trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague.
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