The Zagreb court said on Friday the indictment was lodged yesterday after more than one year had passed since the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) referred the case to the national judiciary.
The indictment, which the Zagreb County Office of the State Prosecutor in cooperation with the ICTY prosecution has adjusted to the Croatian judicial standards, was lodged with the County Court on Thursday, and Judge Marin Mrcela was appointed to lead the proceedings.
The prosecution also asked to the detention of the two indictees due to the gravity of crimes they are charged with.
Mirko Norac is already serving a 12-year sentence after he was convicted of war crimes committed in the area of Gospic in 1991. Rahim Ademi has been released from the Scheveningen detention centre pending trial, according to a decision of the UN tribunal.
A press release issued by the Zagreb County Court made no mention when the main hearing may commence, nor were any details from the six-point indictment given.
The Office of the Chief State Prosecutor (DORH) also refused to comment on the contents of the indictment.
"We can only confirm that the indictment was lodged with the court yesterday and that the document is a result of the collaboration between the DORH and the Hague-based Office of Prosecutor," the spokeswoman for the DORH, Martina Mihordin, told Hina today.
According to some unofficial information, the prosecution in the case will be led by Deputy State Chief Prosecutor, Antun Kvakan, who worked together with Zagreb prosecutors on the adjustment of the indictment to Croatian laws.
The ICTY decided in mid-September last year to refer the case to the Croatian judiciary after it established that all conditions for the referral had been met, including the protection of witnesses and a fair trial.
The Supreme Court President decided to allocate the case to the Zagreb County Court.
The latter court said that Judge Marin Mrcela was selected to lead the case according to the court's rule book and the annual programme of allocating jobs among judges. In addition, Mrcela was engaged in the training of other judges for war crimes trials, and has experience and skills for such trials.