At a pre-trial hearing on February 9, the trial chamber orally instructed the prosecution to shorten the indictment in line with the prosecution's previous announcement that if ordered so it would drop charges for crimes committed in the last two months relevant to the indictment and crimes in six of the 20 municipalities covered by the indictment.
In line with the trial chamber's decision, the prosecution will reduce the number of locations and time frames relevant to the indictment against Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac for crimes committed during Operation Storm. The prosecution will not introduce evidence for crimes committed in the area of Kijevo, Lovinac, Polaca, Smilcic, Titova Korenica and Udbina, and will not present evidence for crimes committed during October and November 1995.
The prosecution retained the right to quote evidence concerning those charges, where this is relevant to the pattern, intent and knowledge of the commission of crimes.
The indictment charges the three generals with crimes committed against Croatian Serbs before, in the course and in the aftermath of Operation Storm between July and November 1995, and with ethnic cleansing devised as part of a joint criminal enterprise.
Defence counsel for the generals said that the prosecution's proposal regarding the shortening of the indictment did not constitute significant shortening of its scope.
At the end of last year, when it raised the issue of shortening the indictment for the first time, the trial chamber requested the prosecution to drop one-third of the indictment.
The trial of the three generals is scheduled to start on May 7.