Three Dutch peacekeepers may face genocide charges in relation to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Today, the relatives of three men killed by Bosnian Serb forces after the enclave of Srebrenica fell filed a lawsuit with the Dutch prosecutor's office charging three Dutch commanders with complicity in genocide, war crimes and murder.
 
Commander Thomas Karremans, Deputy Commander Rob Franken and personnel officer Berend Oosterveen were in charge of the Dutchbat peacekeeping battalion in the United Nations protected area of Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed over a five-day period after UN peacekeepers handed them over to forces led by Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic.
 
Tuesday's lawsuit argues that the commanders knew that the deportation of Rizo Mustafic and the father and brother of Hassan Nuhanovic from the base would ultimately lead to their deaths at the hands of the Serb soldiers. The lawsuit therefore concludes that "these actions can be qualified as genocide and/or war crimes, and/or murder".
 
The Dutch prosecutor general will now review the lawsuit and decide whether or not to pursue an investigation into the charges.
 
Evidence
The remains of the father and brother of Hassan Nuhanovic were found in mass graves in 2007 and 2010. The body of Rizo Mustafic has never been recovered. Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld argues that Franken and Karremans knew what was going to happen to the men when they were sent from the compound. She told Radio Netherlands Worldwide:
 
"There can be little doubt about it. At the time, they expressed their fear for the fate of the men on several occasions. These Dutch soldiers feared a mass execution."
 
It is now up to the Public Prosecutors in Arnhem to decide whether the three Dutchbat officers will stand trial. Ms Zegveld believes there is a good chance that the case will go to court:
 
"I expect that, given the evidence available, the public prosecution service will see sufficient grounds to prosecute."

Life sentence
If the Public Prosecutor decides to go to court, it will be up to the judges to decide whether the three are guilty as charged. In that case, the maximum sentence they face is life imprisonment.