Naletilic, 58, former commander of the Convicts Battalion of the Croat Defence Council (HVO), and Martinovic, 41, who commanded the Mrmak anti-terrorist unit that was attached to this battalion, were sentenced to prison terms of 20 and 18 years respectively on 31 March 2003 for war crimes committed during the Croat-Muslim conflict in the Mostar and Jablanica areas of southern Bosnia-Herzegovina from April 1993 to January 1994.
The two men were arrested in Croatia in 1997. Martinovic was transferred to The Hague on 9 August 1999 and Naletilic on 21 March 2000. Both pleaded not guilty at their initial appearance before ICTY judges.
During the trial, which opened on 10 September 2001, the prosecution called 84 witnesses and introduced 2,305 exhibits of evidence. Naletilic's defence team called 35 witness and presented 370 exhibits of evidence and Martinovic's 27 witnesses and 76 exhibits of evidence. Closing arguments were made from 28 to 31 October 2002.