SPLIT, Oct 24 (Hina) - The Split County Court panel of judges presiding the trial of eight former military police accused of war crimes committed in Split's Lora penitentiary in 1992 on Thursday ruled on proposals by the defence and
the prosecution regarding subpoenaed witnesses from Yugoslavia, and the calling of new witnesses from Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
SPLIT, Oct 24 (Hina) - The Split County Court panel of judges
presiding the trial of eight former military police accused of war
crimes committed in Split's Lora penitentiary in 1992 on Thursday
ruled on proposals by the defence and the prosecution regarding
subpoenaed witnesses from Yugoslavia, and the calling of new
witnesses from Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. #L#
The main hearing has been adjourned until Nov. 7, when witnesses who
failed to appear in court to date should testify.
Five witnesses from Yugoslavia who failed to appear in Split twice
already, even though they had said they were willing to testify,
will be called through diplomatic channels, via the Justice
Ministry. They should be examined on Nov. 11.
The panel of judges turned down a request by the plaintiff to call
Dusan Dunjic, a medical expert from Belgrade, and 14 people he
examined in 1994. The panel ruled that available documentation did
not clearly say if the 14 witnesses had been injured at the Lora
prison. Moreover, they are prisoners-of-war and not civilians, and
the indictment refers to war crimes against civilians.
The panel of judges also turned down a request by the state
prosecutor to question 14 witnesses, most of whom are Bosnian
residents, who described their experience as Lora prisoners in
letters to the Split County Prosecutor's office.
The parties in the proceedings may appeal the panel's decisions
only at end of trial.
Five of the eight accused are present in court - Andjelko Botic,
Ante Gudic, Emilio Bungur, Davor Banic, and Tonci Vrkic, who remain
in custody for another month. The first on the indictment, Tomislav
Duic, is being tried in absence, while Miljenko Bajic and Josip
Bikic have been at large since early August, when the Supreme Court
quashed a decision by the panel of judges to release the
defendants.
Seven of the accused were arrested on 27 September 2001 on charges
of war crimes committed between March and September 1992, which
culminated in the death of two Croatian Serb inmates.
The indictment was filed on March 27 this year.
(hina) ha sb