Netherlands: Supreme Court reduces state liability for Srebrenica deaths

M/S Members of Mothers of Srebrenica group approaching Supreme Court of Netherlands, The Hague
W/S Members of Mothers of Srebrenica group entering Dutch Supreme Court
M/S Members of Mothers of Srebrenica group sitting in Dutch Supreme Court's lobby
M/S Camera operators in court room
W/S Judges entering court room
SOT, Kees Streefkerk, Presiding Judge (Dutch): "The Supreme Court rules that Dutchbat [troops] acted unlawfully in the evacuation of the 350 men, who had been staying in the compound since the afternoon of June 13, 1995. The liability is limited to ten percent of the damages suffered by the surviving relatives of the [approximately 350] victims. The families can receive compensation for these damages from the [Dutch] state."
W/S Judges leaving court room
W/S Exterior of Dutch Supreme Court
M/S Dutch Supreme Court's entrance
M/S Bronze statues depicting Dutch jurists
W/S Dutch Supreme Court's entrance
SOT, Remko de Bruijne, Former Dutchbat II soldier: "[I am an] ex-soldier from Dutchbat, and I've been in court today. And I think the ruling of the judge is disappointing, especially for the survivors of Srebrenica. My opinion is they better could stay at the 30 percent but it's downgraded to ten percent. I think that's not fair. But the judge also said that the UN was responsible during that period. So my personal opinion is if the Dutch state is compliable for ten percent, then the Dutch state is also a member of the UN. And maybe it's a good thing that as a member of the UN, we can plea at the UN to pay the rest of the ninety percent from all other countries."
C/U UN beret of former Dutchbat II soldier Remko de Bruijne
MS Member of Mothers of Srebrenica group Kada Hotic
SOT, Kada Hotic, Member 'Mothers of Srebrenica' group (Bosnian): "Today I was met with the most uncivilised way of treating the victims. They haven't provided us with the translation. We couldn't listen to it, nor understand the verdict. I thought this was a civilised country. In fact, it may be one, I am not blaming the people. The Dutch people need to stand up and fight against the injustice. It was our need and their obligation to provide this translation in order for us to understand the verdict. Instead, they camouflaged it and admitted about 10 percent of responsibility. They are responsible, at last. The Dutch Defence Ministry and the Dutch government are directly responsible for the Srebrenica genocide. Whether it's one, ten or hundred percent - they are responsible for it. It shows their cynicism, primitivism and weakness that they set only 10 percent."
M/S Hotic embracing man
M/S President of Mothers of Srebrenica group Munira Subasic speaking with journalist
C/U Pin on Subasic's shirt
W/S Subasic sitting with other women
M/S Subasic sitting with other women
SCRIPT
The Dutch Supreme Court has upheld the Netherlands' partial liability for the deaths of around 350 Muslim men killed by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995, during a hearing in The Hague on Friday. However, the court reduced the state liability down to 10 percent from the 30 percent set in a 2017 ruling.
Presiding Judge Kees Streefkerk said, "The Supreme Court rules that Dutchbat [troops] acted unlawfully in the evacuation of the 350 men, who had been staying in the compound since the afternoon of June 13, 1995."
He noted that, "the liability is limited to ten percent of the damages suffered by the surviving relatives of the [approximately 350] victims," adding that the victims' families "can receive compensation for these damages from the [Dutch] state."
Member of the Mothers of Srebrenica group Kada Hotic stressed that the Dutch state is "directly responsible for the Srebrenica genocide," noting that the state's acceptance of only 10 percent of its responsibility shows their "cynicism."
The former Dutchbat soldier Remko de Bruijne, who also attended the hearing, said that he found the ruling "disappointing." He added, "My opinion is they better could stay at the 30 percent but it's downgraded to ten percent. I think that's not fair."