BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A rights group on Saturday sharply criticized the Serbian government after the defense ministry published and promoted books that include the war memories of two former generals convicted of war crimes by a U.N. court.

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights said in an open letter to Prime Minister Ana Brnabic that the move amounted to open state support for the war criminals sentenced by the Yugoslav tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ministry rejected the criticism in a statement, insisting that the generals have the right to "state their view of the historic event...