War crimes prosecutors at The Hague said today Bosnian Serb "Iron Lady" Biljana Plavsic should face a 15-25 year jail term after she pleaded guilty to a count of crimes against humanity in the Bosnian war.
The former Bosnian Serb president, The Hague court's only female confessed war criminal, delivered an unprecedented "mea culpa" yesterday by admitting some responsibility for atrocities against non-Serbs in the 1992-5 conflict though she stopped short of an explicit apology to the victims.
"Absent of the guilty plea we would have requested imprisonment for the rest of her life," Chief Prosecutor Ms Carla Del Ponte said at a pre-sentencing hearing.
Lawyers for both sides are making closing arguments on the last day of a three-day hearing. Judges will then deliberate before she is sentenced. A sentencing date has not been set.
"The knowledge that I am responsible for such human suffering and for soiling the character of my people will always be with me," Ms Plavsic said yesterday.
Bosnian reaction to Ms Plavsic's unprecedented confession was mixed. Acclaim for the fact she alone among former Serb leaders had admitted blame for war crimes clashed with deep scepticism.
"I honour her because she is the only one who confessed guilt until now," said Ms Sanja Mandic, 40, a doctor in Sarajevo. "It means that her guilty conscience started to work."
Ms Plavsic (72) initially pleaded innocent to numerous counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes after surrendering to The Hague tribunal in January 2001.
But in October she changed her plea to guilty of one count of persecution on racial, religious and political grounds - a crime against humanity - saying she was filled with remorse.
Other counts were dropped and Ms Plavsic - the highest-ranking figure to admit atrocities and the only woman publicly indicted by the tribunal - avoided trial.