LEPOGLAVA CONTINUE HUNGER STRIKE LEPOGLAVA, April 19 (Hina) - Serb People's Party president Milan Djukic on Wednesday visited the prison in Lepoglava where he talked to 27 convicts of Serb nationality, sentenced for taking part in
last decade's armed rebellion against Croatia, who have been on a hunger strike since Monday. The Croatian Serb convicts say they are refusing food due to a wrong application of the Amnesty Law, and the fact that a prisoners-of-war exchange agreement, signed by the former foreign ministers of Croatia and Yugoslavia, was not complied with. They have no complaints about the food and conditions in the Lepoglava prison, and say starvation is the only way to overcome the difficulties in connection with their court cases. Djukic, who is also an MP, said amnesty should not be feared when it was justified. About 90 percent of court rulings have been reached without consenting to hear defendants' witnesses, he assert
LEPOGLAVA, April 19 (Hina) - Serb People's Party president Milan
Djukic on Wednesday visited the prison in Lepoglava where he talked
to 27 convicts of Serb nationality, sentenced for taking part in
last decade's armed rebellion against Croatia, who have been on a
hunger strike since Monday.
The Croatian Serb convicts say they are refusing food due to a wrong
application of the Amnesty Law, and the fact that a prisoners-of-
war exchange agreement, signed by the former foreign ministers of
Croatia and Yugoslavia, was not complied with.
They have no complaints about the food and conditions in the
Lepoglava prison, and say starvation is the only way to overcome the
difficulties in connection with their court cases.
Djukic, who is also an MP, said amnesty should not be feared when it
was justified. About 90 percent of court rulings have been reached
without consenting to hear defendants' witnesses, he asserted.
Goran Pasic, who represents the Croatian Serb convicts on hunger
strike, hopes "the truth will come out", and that this year's change
in Croatia's authorities bodes well.
He outlined the 27-member group's demand for the application of the
Amnesty Law in cases when it is possible, and that others be tried
before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Also present at Djukic's talks with the Lepoglava convicts were
representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Government and Local
Self-Government.
Stjepan Loparic, the Lepoglava prison manager's assistant for
punishment execution, recalled that all prison managers at a March
18 meeting with the justice minister concluded data on non-final
verdicts, under which convicts were serving sentences, should be
submitted to the Justice Ministry.
This has been done in Lepoglava's case, and Loparic believes it "is
already being solved."
(hina) ha mm