A UN war crimes court sentenced Bosnian Serb doctor Milomir Stakic to life in prison for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia but cleared him of charges of genocide. The sentence was the longest handed down so far by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugsolavia. "The accused Milomir Stakic is guilty of extermination, murder, persecutions, deportation," the court said Thursday. "Doctor Milomir Stakic is hereby sentenced to life in imprisonment." But reading out the verdict, Judge Wolfgang Schomburg said: "Despite the comprehensive pattern of atrocities against non-Serbs in Prijedor, the trial chamber has not found this case to be a case of genocide, rather it is a case of persecution, deportation and extermination." The court said the primary aim of the ethnic cleansing campaign in Bosnia "was to displace the non-Serb population in order to achieve the vision of a pure Serbian state. "This intent to displace a population cannot be equated with an intent to destroy it as such." But it added: "Dr Stakic was one of the main actors in this persecutorial campaign and the trial chamber is satisfied that he had the requisite intent to discriminate against non-Serbs." Prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian said: "We are very happy with this sentence. It reflects the gravity of the crime and the role played by the accused." Stakic, 41, was accused of being directly responsible for one of the darkest chapters of the Bosnian war, the infamous concentration camps of Prijedor where he was head of the so-called crisis staff that ran the Prijedor district after Bosnian Serb rebels overthrew the multi-ethnic authorities there. He was also mayor and director of the local community health centre. The prosecution argued that Stakic's role at the head of the crisis staff and as mayor of Prijedor made him directly responsible for planning genocide. It said he provided the logistic support to those who carried out the torture, murder, rapes and deportations. Stakic's lawyers argued however that he had "no real power or authority" and called for his acquittal. Stakic went into hiding after being charged in 1997 but was handed over to the UN court after the fall of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Bosnian Serb Milomir Stakic (C) is flanked by two guards during an appearance at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague.(AFP/POOL/File/Peter DeJong)