The prosecution was given 21 days to submit an amended indictment. Each of the accused will be given the opportunity to enter his plea to the amended indictment in a foreseeable time, reads a decision dated October 19 and signed by Judge Carmel Agius.
The initial indictment, upheld on February 24, 2004 contains seven counts, while the amended indictment contains a count of murder as a crime against humanity and a count of cruel treatment as a violation of the laws and customs of war.
The initial indictment charges Cermak and Markac according to personal and command responsibility, as participants in a joint criminal enterprise, with four counts of crimes against humanity committed through the deportation and displacement of civilians and other inhumane acts, and with three counts of murder, wanton destruction of settlements and plunder of public and private property, committed against Serb civilians in the Knin area during and after the 1995 Operation Storm.
The amended indictment defines the borders of the geographical area to which the charges refer, the number of municipalities has been reduced from eleven to seven, and Operation Storm is alleged to have started not on August 4 but in July at the latest.
The indictment has been amended with allegations about the relationship between Cermak and the former Croatian president, the late Franjo Tudjman, Cermak's powers as a government representative in his communication with international officials and journalists, with details about the forces under his command and his duties and responsibilities.
A new heading describes Markac's powers over members of special police forces which took part in Operation Storm.
The amended indictment describes overall and individual objectives of the criminal enterprise and names or categorises participants in the criminal enterprise. It says that the purpose of the criminal enterprise was forcible and permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region.
Along with the accused, the indictment names Franjo Tudjman, Gojko Susak, Janko Bobetko, Zvonimir Cervenko, Ante Gotovina, and various officers, officials and members of the Croatian government and political structures at all levels, various leaders and members of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), various officers and members of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Croatian Air Force, special and civilian police and other security and/or intelligence services, and various other known or unknown persons.
The trial chamber granted a motion by the defence counsel and asked the prosecution to additionally clarify paragraph 10 of the amended indictment, which states that during Operation Storm Croatian forces and participants in the joint criminal enterprise committed crimes against Serb civilians and their property as part of plans to implement the joint criminal enterprise. The trial chamber requested that it be stated if all Croatian forces committed crimes during the operation, or only those under the command of the accused.
The defence's claim that the prosecution is criminalising the entire operation and its participants was judged by the trial chamber as premature and irrelevant.
The amended indictment brings Operation Storm in relation with other Croatian military offensives launched in 1995, including Operation Flash, which was carried out in May, and Operation Summer, which took place in July.
The indictment also alleges that in the joint criminal enterprise information and propaganda techniques were used to frighten Krajina Serbs, that there was a campaign of wanton destruction in Krajina and that a demographic campaign was implemented to urgently colonise the region with Croats.
The indictment alleges that under this strategy, Croatian soldiers and other Croats moved into numerous abandoned Serb houses.
The amendments to the indictment also contain corrections regarding some incidents involving murder, with two such allegations being removed and two new ones added to the indictment.
Objecting to the poorly organised supporting material, the trial chamber confirmed that the evidence met conditions from the ICTY's Rules of Procedure and Statute and supported the amendments.
The basis of the indictment remains unchanged, with a considerably higher number of information on criminal allegations, the trial chamber said.