Acting on a request from the county prosecutor's office, Osijek County Court investigating judge Miroslav Rozac on Sunday ordered an investigation of three Serbs suspected of war crimes committed against civilians in the eastern village of Dalj in 1995 and ruled that two of the suspects, arrested in Dalj on February 22, be taken into custody for a month, court officials told a news conference on Monday.
The third suspect under investigation is out of the reach of Croatian authorities and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The fourth suspect, former commander of rebel Serb military police, has not been identified yet and his identity is being established, Rozac said.
He explained that there was a number of persons who had the same name as the fourth suspect and that after his identity was established, an arrest warrant would be issued as he was out of the reach of Croatian authorities.
The four men are charged with torturing a Croat to death in May 1995, as evidenced by autopsy findings from the Vukovar hospital, Rozac said.
In the course of the news conference, Rozac received information from the Osijek prison that Tihomir Valentic, a suspect in the Sellotape war crimes case, had started a hunger strike on February 19.
Valentic stated as the reason for the strike his dissatisfaction with court work, Rozac said, adding that the investigation in the Sellotape case involving independent MP Branimir Glavas, who is suspected of war crimes against civilians, would continue on Tuesday and that two more hearings were scheduled for March 1 and 5.