Serbia's government on Friday criticised the "selective" justice of the UN war crimes tribunal that handed a genocide conviction and 40-year sentence to wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

Reading out a statement following a government meeting on Thursday's ruling, Justice Minister Nikola Selakovic suggested the work of the Hague-based court over the years was biased against Serbs and had left a "bitter taste".

"All justice that leads to the conviction of one people for crimes that were committed by everyone is selective," said Selakovic, who added, however, that Serbia "must cooperate with" the tribunal.

UN judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found wartime Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic guilty on 10 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Bosnia's 1990s inter-ethnic conflict.

He is the highest-profile figure to be convicted over the wars that tore Yugoslavia apart, with several others dying before they could face justice, and many Serbs believe the court has unfairly targeted them.

The statement followed one from Serbia's traditional ally Russia, whose deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov also accused UN war crimes judges of bias and said Karadzic's verdict was "politicised".
SourcE: AFP