Scepanovic said that Judge Tonkovic, who is in charge of a retrial in this case, made the decision "after the court yesterday received from police an official report stating that the five indictees were not found at their addresses".
Arrest warrants were issued after the principal indictee, Tomislav Duic, who had been at large since the first trial in 2002, and after Josip Bikic, Miljenko Bajic, Davor Banic and Emilijo Bungur. After the first trial, Bikic and Bajic failed to return to the detention centre after the Supreme Court quashed the decision on their release.
Tonci Vrkic, Ante Gudic and Andjelko Botic have been in prison since 11 October, when they were apprehended in line with the Supreme Court's order to arrest all eight persons indicted for war crimes against civilians at Split's naval prison Lora in 1992.
The issuing of the arrest warrants is the first condition for starting a trial in absentia, and for this to happen, the County Prosecutor's Office must move a proposal to that effect, which is decided by the County Court.