The last hearing was held two and a half years ago, when the trial of Munib Suljic, Igor Mikola, Sinisa Rimac, Miroslav Bajramovic and Branko Saric was interrupted because Mikola was detained in Bosnia-Herzegovina over attempted extortion.
After serving two years and three months in prison, the authorities of Bosnia-Herzegovina have extradited him to Croatia because he had to go into custody in connection with another case not linked to the Pakracka Poljana case. Mikola was soon released pending trial so the judge in the Pakracka Poljana case scheduled a hearing.
All five indictees pleaded not guilty to the murder of Croatian Army (HV) member Aleksandar Antic in the Pakrac region in late 1991 and the detention of three Zagreb residents of Serb nationality who were later killed by unidentified people. The five indictees, who are also charged with extortion, were members of the reserve unit of the Croatian Interior Ministry which during the war was under the command of Tomislav Mercep.
During today's plea-entering, the judge ordered a recess because one of the accused complained about a toothache. The trial will resume on June 6 and 7.
The public first learnt about the Pakracka Poljana case in 1992, after the police received information on the crimes allegedly committed by the Interior Ministry's reserve unit commanded by Mercep. The case was "on hold" until September 1997 when Bajramovic told a weekly that 280 people were killed in Pakracka Poljana of whom he personally had killed 72. In December 1997 the Prosecutor's Office issued an indictment which also included Karlovic. in 1999, he and another three men were acquitted of the murder of Antic, whose body has not yet been found.
In 2001, the Supreme Court revoked the acquittal and ordered a re-trial.