ZAGREB, Oct 23 (Hina) - Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic has said that operational procedures regarding war crimes in the Medak Pocket and Sisak will be completed "relatively shortly".
ZAGREB, Oct 23 (Hina) - Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic has said
that operational procedures regarding war crimes in the Medak
Pocket and Sisak will be completed "relatively shortly". #L#
"A large number of the Interior Ministry's staff are working on
those cases and the completion of operational procedures and
decisions regarding the findings are expected in a relatively short
time," Bajic said after meeting Justice Minister Ingrid Anticevic
Marinovic.
The meeting also tackled a draft reform of the judiciary, which is
to be discussed at tomorrow's government session.
Bajic said the State Prosecution, police, an intelligence agency
and military police were working intensively on all war crimes
cases. The cases are at different stages, some are being
investigated, like the Paulin Dvor case, while the others are being
intensively processed, Bajic said.
The Chief State Prosecutor did not want to say how many people were
under investigation.
According to an indictment of the UN war crimes tribunal at The
Hague against retired general Janko Bobetko, at least 100 Serbs,
including 29 civilians, were killed in the villages of Divoselo,
Citluk and Pocitelj during the Croatian military operation "Medak
Pocket" in 1993. The villages were almost razed to the ground and
burned after the operation.
According to the Sisak-Moslavina County police, between 1991 and
2001 charges were pressed against close to 400 known perpetrators
for a total of 220 criminal acts against values protected by
international law. Most of the charges refer to war crimes against
civilians and prisoners of war. Around 100 persons have received
non-final or final verdicts so far. Around 80 more have been
indicted while arrest warrants have been issued for 119 locals who
are at large.
The Socialist Labour Party (SRP) claims that in the summer and
autumn of 1991, 107 people, mostly Serbs, were killed in Sisak.
Another 600 are considered missing.
A court investigation into Paulin Dvor, where in December 1991, 19
Serb civilians were killed, has been launched in September. So far,
two former members of the Croatian army reserve forces have been
suspected of the crime.
(hina) rml