The six men, who had been provisionally released pending trial, returned to the ICTY detention centre in Scheveningen on Monday two days before the start of the trial for war crimes in 1993 and 1994.
The charges against the accused focus on ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and other non-Croats from areas in the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which were claimed to be part of the so-called Herceg-Bosna, declared as a political and territorial entity in November 1991, the tribunal reported. The charges include, among others, murder, rape, sexual assault, destruction of property, imprisonment, deportation and forcible transfer, the ICTY said. The indictment concentrates on crimes committed in the municipalities of Prozor, Gornji Vakuf, Jablanica, Mostar, Ljubuski, Stolac, Čapljina and Vares, the tribunal said.
All six men voluntarily surrendered to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on 5 April 2004 and entered a not guilty plea a day later. They have been on provisional release since 9 September 2004.
A pre-trial conference will be held tomorrow, the ICTY said.
The initial indictment against the six men was filed and confirmed on 4 March 2004.
The indictment states that the six accused participated in a joint criminal enterprise to politically and militarily subjugate, permanently remove and ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims and other non-Croats who lived in areas on the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which were claimed to be part of the Croatian Community (and later Republic) of Herceg-Bosna, and to join these areas as part of a "Greater Croatia".
According to the indictment, as president, and later prime minister, of the Herceg-Bosna/HVO, Prlic was the most powerful official, other than Mate Boban, in the Herceg-Bosna/HVO political and governmental structure. Stojic was the top political and management official in charge of the HVO armed forces. Praljak served simultaneously as a senior Croatian Army officer, Assistant Minister of Defence and senior representative of the Croatian Ministry of Defence to the Herceg-Bosna/HVO government and armed forces, playing an important role in securing weapons and ammunition for the HVO army. Petkovic, in his various positions and functions, exercised de jure and/or de facto command and control over the Herceg-Bosna/HVO armed forces. Coric played a key role in the establishment, administration and operation of the HVO Military Police. Pusic was president of the commission taking charge of all HVO prison and detention facilities holding prisoners of war and detainees.
The indictment alleges that in addition to the six accused, the joint criminal enterprise included Franjo Tudman, Gojko Šusak, Janko Bobetko, Mate Boban, Dario Kordic, Tihomir Blaskic, Mladen Naletilic and various members and officials of the HVO, among others.
As part of the ethnic cleansing, the six accused are accused of use of force, intimidation and terror by conducting mass arrests of Bosnian Muslims who were then either murdered, beaten, sexually assaulted, robbed of their property and otherwise abused. In attacks on Muslim towns, villages and areas, there was systematic shelling and snipping of civilians. Personal property including houses and cars were taken over by the HVO.
Prosecutor Kenneth Scott, who announced 400 witnesses at the stand and about 9,500 pieces of evidence, said that the opening statement of the prosecution would last approximately six hours or a day and a half in court. It is estimated that the trial could last up to three years. The trial chamber is presided by French judge Jean Claude Antonetti.