ZADAR, Sept 30 (Hina) - The prosecution and defence in the re-trial of Zorana Banic (51), accused by the Zadar County Court of war crimes against civilians in Skabrnja on November 18, 1991, made their summations on Monday. A sentence
will be passed on October 2.
ZADAR, Sept 30 (Hina) - The prosecution and defence in the re-trial
of Zorana Banic (51), accused by the Zadar County Court of war
crimes against civilians in Skabrnja on November 18, 1991, made
their summations on Monday. A sentence will be passed on October 2.
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The prosecution requested that the sentence of 20 years in prison,
passed in 1998 in the absence of the defendant, remain in force.
The defence requested an acquittal.
Judge Enka Mokovic said that she would pronounce the sentence on
Wednesday, October 2.
The prosecution - Deputy County Prosecutor Mato Dorcic and County
Prosecutor Ivan Galovic - said in their summation that witnesses
had recognised the accused and the trial confirmed that she had
actively participated in the criminal enterprise in Skabrnja.
There are no extenuating circumstances, the prosecution said,
requesting that the original penalty of 20 years in prison remain in
force.
The testimony by witness Marija Mizdalo in favour of the defendant,
sent by mail from Yugoslavia, is only a weak attempt to remove
responsibility from Zorana Banic, Dorcic said.
Attorney Luka Susak said that he was not defending the crime
committed in Skabrnja but the defendant Zorana Banic. He requested
that Banic be acquitted because there was no concrete evidence
against her. The attorney cited parts of the Geneva Convention
which notes that medical staff - Banic was a nurse - cannot be
punished for performing their duties in the armed forces. Even if
she had been in Skabrnja, and she had not, Zorana Banic cannot be
punished, he said, voicing doubt about the credibility of
testimonies by witnesses who charged Banic.
(hina) sp rml sb