MOSTAR COURT MOSTAR, Jan 30(Hina) - The cantonal court in the southern city of Mostar on Friday acquitted four local Croats of war crimes charges. Zeljko Dzidic, Mato Anicic, Ivan Skutora and Erhard Poznic were indicted for committing
war crimes against civilians and POWs during the Croat-Muslim conflict in the first half of the 1990s while they were members of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).
MOSTAR, Jan 30(Hina) - The cantonal court in the southern city of
Mostar on Friday acquitted four local Croats of war crimes charges.
Zeljko Dzidic, Mato Anicic, Ivan Skutora and Erhard Poznic were
indicted for committing war crimes against civilians and POWs during
the Croat-Muslim conflict in the first half of the 1990s while they
were members of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO).#L#
Presiding Judge Mladen Jurisic said there was no evidence of the four
defendants having committed the crimes they were charged with.
This was the renewed trial against the four men after the Bosnian
Federation's Supreme Court quashed the initial verdict by the same
cantonal court, which also acquitted them at the first trial in spring
2001.
Local state prosecutor Ibro Bulic said he was shocked at the acquittal
and announced an appeal.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
allowed the Mostar court to conduct the proceedings against the said
indictees.
(Hina) ms sb