The Home Secretary decided that the horrific nature of the doctor's crimes placed him in a special category of prisoners for whom life should really mean life.
And just in case peace-makers might be in any doubt of the serious nature of the rebels' threat to the country's stability, Mr Boskovski's special police units shot dead five members of an ethnic-Albanian rebel group discovered hiding in Skopje.
It borders the Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve which was designated under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland habitat of international importance and a special protection area.