DALMATIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE ON LORA WAR CRIMES CASE

SPLIT, June 14 (Hina) - The Split-based Dalmatian Committee on Human Rights has called on witnesses in the Lora prison war crimes case from Yugoslavia and Bosnia not to respond to calls from the Croatian judiciary without firm guarantees. #L# The Committee has cautioned potential witnesses "not to come to Croatia without firm guarantees, to avoid the possibility of being insulted, attacked, or even arrested on charges of an alleged war crime, as has already happened," read a statement signed by Committee chairman Tonci Majic. The Committee claims that the witnesses who have been invited to testify at the Split County Court trial of eight former military policemen charged with war crimes and the killing of two civilians have not even been offered help in obtaining visas and passports. By providing or denying the requested guarantees, Croatian authorities will have to clearly show if they want to bring those witnesses to the court and if they are actually capable of holding war crimes trials, said the statement issued on Friday. Denying guarantees constitutes "an act of sabotage and is part of a wider bid to undermine the trial in order not to arrive at those responsible for the crimes at Lora, and to eventually, and as leniently as possible, sentence only prison guards," the statement said. (hina) ha sb