SUSPECT OF STUPNI DOL CRIME FREED FROM SPLIT CUSTODY DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE

SPLIT, Oct 1 (Hina) - Miroslav Anic, arrested on suspicion of his involvement in a war crime against 16 civilians in the Bosnian village of Stupni Dol, was released from custody on Sunday in the southern Croatian city of Split, because of a lack of evidence, after he had been detained at prison for six months. Anic was apprehended on suspicion that while he was a member of the Bosnian Croat Defence Council (HVO), he committed a war crime against 16 Muslim (Bosniak) villagers in Stupni Dol, central Bosnia-Herzegovina, during the Croat-Muslim conflict in 1993. Upon his arrest in March this year, he stood mute before an investigating judge in Split, and during his second appearance before the judge he asserted that he had not been involved with the killings in Stupni Dol. After interviewing Anic, who is a Croatian citizen, the Split Court asked the cantonal court in Zenica, central Bosnia, to send additional information and evidence to investigators in Split so that they could carry out a thorough investigation. The Zenica court, however, failed to provide the Prosecutor's Office in Split with the required material within the planned time term. Anic was set free on Sunday given that no indictment had been issued against him in the past six months during his detention in custody. (hina) ms