Court in The Hague has acquitted two Croatian generals of war crimes committed against Serbs during Yugoslavia’s break-up in 1995.
Appeals judges at tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ordered the release of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac.
In 2011 they were sentenced to 24 years and 18 years respectively over the killing of ethnic Serbs in an offensive to retake Croatia’s Krajina region.
Thousands of people in Croatia’s capital Zagreb cheered Friday’s ruling.
‘National heroes’
On Friday, presiding judge Theodor Meron said that court entered “a verdict of acquittal” for Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac, both aged 57.
The court also ordered their immediate release.
Neither showed any emotion at the ruling, but their supporters in the court’s gallery hugged each other and clapped after the verdict.
In Zagreb’s main square, thousands of people – who watched the proceedings live on giant TV – burst into applause.
Candle-lit vigils were held in Zagreb and Catholic churches around the country on Thursday night as war veterans and bishops asked supporters to “raise their voices against injustice”.
Veterans, many wearing uniforms and carrying their units’ or national flags, marched from the capital’s Mirogoj cemetery to the city’s cathedral.
Both Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac are seen as heroes across Croatia.
– bbc