ZAGREB/BJELOVAR, Sept 21 (Hina) - An investigation against four former Croatian police officers ended on Friday before the Bjelovar County Court with a repeated testimony of General Mile Cuk and officials formerly in charge of the
town defence, Stjepan Budimski and Jure Simic. The three witnesses were summonsed again following the publication of an article by the Globus weekly, which reported that during a questioning by the military police about the circumstances of his wounding in the war in July last year, Cuk, a former head of the Bjelovar Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order (SZUP), accused Budimski and Simic or killing prisoners of war and civilians in Bjelovar in 1991. The weekly said Cuk had accused Simic of organising the execution of six members of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) reserve forces and a Serb civilian, who survived. Luka Markesic, former deputy police commissioner f
ZAGREB/BJELOVAR, Sept 21 (Hina) - An investigation against four
former Croatian police officers ended on Friday before the Bjelovar
County Court with a repeated testimony of General Mile Cuk and
officials formerly in charge of the town defence, Stjepan Budimski
and Jure Simic.
The three witnesses were summonsed again following the publication
of an article by the Globus weekly, which reported that during a
questioning by the military police about the circumstances of his
wounding in the war in July last year, Cuk, a former head of the
Bjelovar Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order
(SZUP), accused Budimski and Simic or killing prisoners of war and
civilians in Bjelovar in 1991.
The weekly said Cuk had accused Simic of organising the execution of
six members of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) reserve forces and a
Serb civilian, who survived. Luka Markesic, former deputy police
commissioner for the Bjelovar County police and former special
police officers Zdenko Radic, Zoran Maras and Ivan Orlovic, who
have been in custody at the Bjelovar County Court detention centre
since late August, are suspected of this crime.
Due to the confidentiality of the investigative proceedings,
reporters were unable to obtain information on how Budimski, a
former commander of the Bjelovar Territorial Defence, and Simic,
former head of the Bjelovar Crisis Headquarters, have reacted to
Cuk's alleged accusations.
A total of 28 witnesses have been questioned in the investigation.
The judge conducting the investigative proceedings has ruled that
Markesic, Maras and Radic remain in custody until September 26,
whereas Orlovic's detention has been extended to September 28.
By that time, the State Prosecutor's Office in Bjelovar County
should decide whether to issue an indictment, suggest that the
investigation be supplemented or give up criminal prosecution.
(hina) rml