THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, March 4 (Hina)- The head of the Croatian government's Office for Missing and Detained Persons, Ivan Grujic, on Tuesday ended his testimony in the trial against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in the
International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, March 4 (Hina)- The head of the Croatian
government's Office for Missing and Detained Persons, Ivan Grujic,
on Tuesday ended his testimony in the trial against former Yugoslav
President Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal
Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). #L#
Prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff questioned the witness about
prisoners in camps in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and
occupied areas of Croatia where Croats were detained.
"There is written medical evidence of the abuse of almost all the
prisoners in all the camps. The medical reports were compiled when
prisoners were exchanged," Grujic said precisely noting the period
the camp was active, the number of prisoners that passed through
them and the number and names of those prisoners killed.
Milosevic, who is defending himself, cross-examined the witness
and attempted to dent his credibility by accusing him of being
involved in the murder of Osijek Police Chief Josip Reihl-Kir in
1991. Grujic indignantly rejected the accusation, stating that
Reihl-Kir was a good friend and a close associate of his.
Even though the head Judge Richard May warned that the questioning
needed to remain within the set limits, Milosevic tried to avoid any
questions relating to the exhumation of mass graves in Croatia or of
material evidence concerning individual crimes he is accused of.
He, however, spent two hours to dispute the credibility of the
activities of the Office for Missing and Detained Persons claiming
that the office was not involved with collecting data on victims and
refugees amongst Croatian Serbs.
"That is not correct. The office is involved with all victims
regardless of their ethnic origin," Grujic said adding that Croatia
was quite serious about Serb refugees. About 130 thousand have
returned and 30 thousand are in the process of return.
Milosevic tried to deny information that Grujic presented of 11,803
dead in Croatia between 1991 to 1995 including 298 ethnic Serbs. He
attempted to present information released by the Belgrade-based
Veritas agency of 6,744 dead Serbs in Croatia including those
killed during the Storm and Flash actions.
Grujic refuted the defendant's assertion, backing this with
evidence including data which showed that some of these died of
natural causes or were still alive or were actually Serbs missing
from Kosovo and Bosnia.
He noted that a list of those killed and missing in the Flash and
Storm actions was still being compiled and that is why this data was
not included.
The witness said there were about 1,000 dead in the Storm action and
500 of them were exhumed while 800 missing people are ethnic Serbs.
Milosevic listed a number of locations and victims apparently
killed by Croats such as 40 killed on the Miljevac plateau in 1992,
88 killed in the Medak Pocket in 1993, others killed in Paulin Dvor,
Lora and other places. Milosevic actually almost took the role of a
prosecutor instead of a defendant, however Judge May refrained him
from doing so.
Milosevic made reference to a documentary entitled "Pavillion 26,
Zagreb Fair" through which allegedly hundreds of Serbs passed
through, as well as Pakrac and Marino Selo where, according to
Milosevic, more than 300 Serbs were killed. The witness responded
hat only 19 bodies were exhumed there.
Colonel Grujic said that Croatia's judiciary was conducting
investigations into these events and some people had already been
sentenced and were currently in jail, some events were only now
being disclosed.
The Milosevic trial will be adjourned until next Monday due to a
four-day rest for the defendant at the recommendation of doctors.
(hina) sp ms sb