ZAGREB, April 22 (Hina) - The State Prosecution and the attorney for the family of Milan Levar, a Hague war crimes tribunal witness killed under still unclear circumstances in Gospic four years ago, on Thursday afternoon signed a deal
under which Levar's wife Vesna and son Leon will each be paid 220,000 kuna in damages (approximately 30,000 euros), as well as 110,000 kuna (14,700 euros) as compensation for Leon's sustenance, and 2,500 kuna (330 euros) per month for as long as Leon attends school.
ZAGREB, April 22 (Hina) - The State Prosecution and the attorney for
the family of Milan Levar, a Hague war crimes tribunal witness killed
under still unclear circumstances in Gospic four years ago, on
Thursday afternoon signed a deal under which Levar's wife Vesna and
son Leon will each be paid 220,000 kuna in damages (approximately
30,000 euros), as well as 110,000 kuna (14,700 euros) as compensation
for Leon's sustenance, and 2,500 kuna (330 euros) per month for as
long as Leon attends school.#L#
The State agreed to the deal with the Levar family after it was
established that the Croatian government in 1998 had taken over the
obligation to protect Levar and his family.
Deputy State Prosecutor Zlata Hrvoj Sipek said today that litigation
with the Levar family would be wanton since it was established that
the state failed to protect Levar although it had been requested and
took over the obligation to do so.
She said the deal could not set a precedent for some other claims for
damages filed over acts of terrorism, as no evidence of terrorism was
found in the Levar case.
She said that the damages awarded to the Levars were determined on the
basis of court practice.
The Levars' attorney Branko Seric voiced satisfaction with the
settlement, describing it as realistic and expected considering the
evidence on the government's failure to protect Milan Levar.
Seric said he would tomorrow withdraw the lawsuit Vesna and Leon Levar
filed against the State with the Zagreb Municipal Court, demanding
more than a million kuna (approximately 133,000 euros) in damages on
account of the mental anguish they suffered as the result of the loss
of husband and father.
The signing of the settlement had been announced for Friday, but it
was subsequently decided that this should be done today, Chief State
Prosecutor Mladen Bajic told Hina.
The State says in the deal that it is "responsible for the incident
which occurred on 28 August 2000, when an unidentified perpetrator
planted an explosive device in the yard of Milan Levar's house in
Gospic, which killed Levar".
Milan Levar volunteered to give testimony to the Hague tribunal about
crimes committed against Serb civilians in the Gospic area in 1991.
Despite a comprehensive police investigation and repeated statements
by the previous government that the investigation was nearing
completion, the killer has not been identified to date.
(Hina) rml