The tribunal ignored everything that General Gotovina's defence presented and we presented very strong proof that he acted in line with the law and military tactics, said one of Gotovina's attorneys, Gregory Kehoe.

The Hague tribunal sentenced Gotovina and Markac to 24 and 18 years imprisonment respectively for involvement in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at forcibly and permanently removing the Serb population from occupied parts of Croatia during and after the summer 1995 Operation Storm. The tribunal acquitted General Ivan Cermak and ordered his immediate release.

The tribunal found Gotovina and Markac guilty of eight of the indictment's nine counts - including persecution, deportation, plunder, destruction, murder, inhumane acts and cruel treatment - while acquitting them of forcible transfer.

Asked how Gotovina reacted to the sentence and if he was disappointed, Kehoe said: Of course he was disappointed, we all are. We believed and expected that we would take him home today.

Luka Misetic, another attorney for Gotovina, said he was sorry he trusted presiding Judge Alphons Orie, adding that a favourable circumstance was that all his former sentences were overturned during appeals proceedings at least in part.

"Naively, we thought that the ruling in this case would be based on facts and the law," he said, adding that the question of which factors were decisive in this case should be put to the tribunal and Judge Orie.

Markac's attorney Goran Mikulicic said he was "disappointed that the trial chamber didn't accept the positions of the defence and our assessment of the facts. The sentence is very, very severe. Even more severe than in some other cases, specifically the Kosovo case."

Mikulicic estimated that the appeals proceedings could last two years.

Cermak's attorney Steven Kay said he was relieved that his client was acquitted, adding that Gotovina left the court room proudly, shaking Kay's hand and telling him not to worry.