ZAGREB, Aug 12 (Hina) - The chief state prosecutor, Mladen Bajic, on Monday confirmed that investigators and one judge from the Hague Tribunal would arrive in Croatia early in September when it will be decided whether a trial for war
crimes committed against 18 Serb nationals from Paulin Dvor, near Osijek, would be held in the Croatian courts or in The Hague.
ZAGREB, Aug 12 (Hina) - The chief state prosecutor, Mladen Bajic, on
Monday confirmed that investigators and one judge from the Hague
Tribunal would arrive in Croatia early in September when it will be
decided whether a trial for war crimes committed against 18 Serb
nationals from Paulin Dvor, near Osijek, would be held in the
Croatian courts or in The Hague. #L#
In a statement for Hina, Bajic said that this depended on the
quality of the preliminary investigation into the crime being
conducted by the Croatian judiciary.
The police, state prosecutor's office, and relevant intelligence
agencies have been intensively investigating the circumstances
surrounding this particular crime, Bajic confirmed.
He added that it was The Hague that prompted local investigative and
judicial bodies to be more involved in probing the murder of 18 Serb
civilians from Paulin Dvor whose bodies were discovered by Hague
investigators during an exhumation of a mass grave site in
Rizvanusa, just outside Gospic.
The public was informed of the Paulin Dvor crimes through several
articles released by the Feral Tribune weekly in July.
According to the weekly, 18 Serb civilians, residents of Paulin
Dvor, were killed during the night between December 11 & 12, 1991.
Their bodies were found in a mass grave near Gospic, which was
ascertained from personal identification documents found with the
bodies.
Feral Tribune claims that the Croatian Army tried to cover up the
crimes committed by some of its members by transferring the bodies.
The village of Paulin Dvor, before peaceful reintegration in
Croatia's jurisdiction in 1997, was occasionally under Serb
occupation and occasionally under Croatian control.
During the investigation, it will be necessary to ascertain not
only who the murderers of the nine men and eight women are, but also
how the bodies came to be found 500 kilometres away from the scene of
the crime, the State Prosecutor's Office said.
All information disclosed during preliminary investigation
remains strictly confidential until further notice.
(hina) sp ha