VIROVITICA VIROVITICA, Sept 18 (Hina) - The police in the eastern Croatian town of Virovitica have continued questioning war veterans about war crimes committed in 1991, representatives of the Virovitica-Podravina County coordinating
body of Homeland War associations said on Tuesday. The Virovitica police today brought in for questioning four former commanders of different military units. The coordinating body has no information on whether today's police activities are related to an investigation into the disappearance of Virovitica resident Bodgan Mudrinic, who was taken to prison in the town barracks in 1991 and never returned to his family. Last week, the police questioned 11 war veterans in connection with this case. The coordinating body has called on all who have been questioned recently in Virovitica, Bjelovar and Zagreb to contact one of war veterans associations. Virovitica City Council president Zlatko L
VIROVITICA, Sept 18 (Hina) - The police in the eastern Croatian town
of Virovitica have continued questioning war veterans about war
crimes committed in 1991, representatives of the Virovitica-
Podravina County coordinating body of Homeland War associations
said on Tuesday.
The Virovitica police today brought in for questioning four former
commanders of different military units. The coordinating body has
no information on whether today's police activities are related to
an investigation into the disappearance of Virovitica resident
Bodgan Mudrinic, who was taken to prison in the town barracks in
1991 and never returned to his family. Last week, the police
questioned 11 war veterans in connection with this case.
The coordinating body has called on all who have been questioned
recently in Virovitica, Bjelovar and Zagreb to contact one of war
veterans associations.
Virovitica City Council president Zlatko Lanscak confirmed this
evening he would call an extraordinary session of the City Council
on Wednesday due to an initiative launched by seven councillors
that the council hold an urgent session to discuss the police
questioning of war veterans.
The county coordinating body of war veterans associations has also
urged an extraordinary session of the county assembly and county
war veterans associations have introduced round-the-clock duty.
The county and city branches of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)
have condemned the questioning of war veterans. "We have nothing
against the investigation of war crimes or against the rule of law,
but the rule of law means regular ways of enforcing the law. Our
members are afraid because they are brought in for questioning
without any warrants and are denied the right to legal counsel and
other rights," the head of the municipal HDZ branch, Slavko
Rajnovic said.
Commenting on claims that the police acted illegally during last
week's questionings, the county police superintendent Milan
Baricevic said on September 14 that "everything was in line with the
law." Interior Ministry spokeswoman Zinka Bardic then dismissed
claims about illegal police conduct.
(hina) rml