TRIAL OF EIGHT CROATIAN SERBS, ACCUSED OF WAR CRIMES, CONTINUES

VUKOVAR, Feb 3(Hina) - The trial of eight Croatian Serbs, accused of war crimes committed against civilians between August 1 and September 13, 1991, while they were members of Croatian Serb rebel police forces and Territorial Defence units in Borovo near Vukovar, resumed on Tuesday at the Vukovar County Court with witness testimonies.#L# Three of the eight accused are on the run. Jovan Curcic, Milos Drzaic, Mladen Maksimovic, Dragan Savic, Dusko Misic, Zeljko Savic, Dragan Savic and Jovica Vucenovic are charged with detaining and torturing people in the basement of the Borovo police station, which was situated in the house of an expelled local resident, and in the local fire-fighting department building. Witness Karlo Povazsony said he had heard that people had been detained in the local community building in Borovo, but he did not know whether and where detainees had been taken from there. The witness said he considered the principal indictee Curcic as a good man about whom he had not heard anything bad. Witness Zeljko Pejakovic, who started working for the police of the so-called Serb Autonomous District of Krajina in August 1991, said the basement of the police station was intended for detaining people who disturbed public peace and order. "That's what it was intended for, but I don't know what it was actually used for". Zeljko Stefancic of Borovo, whose mother and niece were killed in the occupation of the village, said that one evening somebody had opened fire at his house and that he was wounded. The witness did not see who or how many people entered his house. His mother and niece were taken to another room, where they were killed. (Hina) rml