The amendments do not contain new charges or criminal evidence, but mainly clarify the existing allegations against the accused.
The trial chamber in the case, in a decision dated 18 October 2005, granted the motion by the prosecution and rejected all objections by the defence to the form of the proposed amended indictment, saying that the amendments proposed by the prosecution clarified the legal and factual basis of the already very detailed indictment, better informed the accused about the prosecution case and were not detrimental to the accused.
The accused are the former prime minister and president of the Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna, Jadranko Prlic, defence minister Bruno Stojic, police minister Valentin Coric, military commanders General Milivoj Petkovic and General Slobodan Praljak, and Berislav Pusic, who was in charge of Bosnian Croat-run prison facilities.
They were charged in March 2004 with 26 counts of crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions allegedly committed during ethnic cleansing campaigns in the southern municipalities of Prozor, Jablanica, Mostar, Ljubuski, Stolac and Capljina and the central municipalities of Gornji Vakuf and Vares in 1993/94.
The amended indictment also names Dario Kordic, Tihomir Blaskic and Mladen Naletilic Tuta. One of the defence teams opposed the expansion of the indictment in geographical terms, arguing that Kordic and Blaskic had been tried for crimes in central Bosnia, including those committed in the village of Ahmici.
All six accused voluntarily surrendered to the ICTY on 5 April 2004, and the following day they all pleaded not guilty to the charges. On 9 September 2004 they were granted provisional release pending trial.