SEVEN SUSPECTS IN LORA TRIAL RELEASED FROM DETENTION

SPLIT, July 22 (Hina) - Following a two-hour consultation by the Judicial Council of the Split County Court presided by Judge Slavko Lozina, the council decided on Monday to release from detention seven military policeman charged with war crimes allegedly committed in 1992 in the Lora military prison. #L# The state prosecution has 48 hours to lodge an appeal against this decision while a final decision will be passed by the Supreme Court. The seven former military policemen - Tonci Vrkic, Miljenko Bajic, Josip Bikic, Davor Banic, Emilio Bungur, Ante Gudic and Andelko Botic (the eighth suspect, Tomislav Duic is still at large), who spent ten months in prison, did not wish to comment on the decision of their release while their defence attorneys assessed the decision as just. Vinko Ljubicic - attorney for Davor Banic - said that the trial was run in order. He said that the facts and legality were established and now there was no basis for the accused to be sentenced as 33 witnesses that had appeared in the trial could not produce one piece of evidence against the suspects. Slobodan Mikulic - Tonci Vrkic's attorney - stressed that the decision was brought pursuant to the law and its latest amendment which state that detention for acts according to Item 4 will be determined only in exceptional cases. The last day of the trial before the summer break saw the testimony of former deputy commander of the 72nd battalion of the military police Tvrtko Pasalic whom witness Mario Barisic directly accused of being responsible for the events in Lora. Pasalic said that Lora was the prison where only terrorists and war criminals were detained and that the Croatian army did not have a parallel system of command. The trial resumes on September 19 when witnesses from Yugoslavia will take the stand. (hina) sp it