The minister did not say who pressed the charges against Vasiljkovic and for what.
The media learned from the State Prosecutor's Office that the charges have been pressed by the police in the Adriatic port of Sibenik for the mistreatment of prisoners in the prison in Knin in the summer of 1991 by members of a unit commanded by Vasiljkovic.
Charges have also been pressed by the police in Sisak for crimes in the Una river area, where more than 20 civilians were killed in July 1991.
It has been speculated that next week the State Prosecutor's Office will request an investigation of Vasiljkovic. According to the media, reports that Vasiljkovic's units committed crimes in the Baranja region in concert with Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan's Tigers are also being checked.
Prosecutor's offices in every county have been engaged in investigating Vasiljkovic's war past, while investigators with the Hague war crimes tribunal have been requested to share information they have obtained.
The justice minister said the public would be briefed about the investigation of Vasiljkovic next week. Earlier this month, when Australian journalists discovered where Vasiljkovic lives, Skare-Ozbolt announced that Croatia would soon request his extradition from Australia.
Vasiljkovic has dismissed the accusations on a number of occasions, telling the media he did not commit any war crimes.
Slobodna Dalmacija daily said in today's issue that Vasiljkovic had been under investigation by the Split Military Prosecutor's Office in 1994 for subversion and terrorist activities against Croatia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The investigation was called off in November 1997 with the application of the General Amnesty Law.