SUSPECTS IN AHMICI WAR CRIME TO GO ON TRIAL IN ZADAR

ZADAR, Sept 7 (Hina) - The suspects in 1993's Ahmici war crime will go on trial before the Zadar County Court, court president Benko Velcic said on Thursday. An investigation of Ante Sliskovic and Tomislav Vlajic, arrested earlier in the week, is underway, while an arrest warrant has been issued after the other two suspects, Pasko Ljubicic and Vlado Cosic. All are suspected of war crimes against civilians committed in the central Bosnian village of Ahmici during 1993's Croat-Muslim conflict. Velcic said the two arrested suspects would be tried at the Zadar County Court because they were arrested in the Zadar region, central Adriatic coast, and it is where they were registered as residing. "A decision on transferring the case to another court for any one reason can be made by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia," said the investigating judge. He recalled Sliskovic and Vlajic were Croatian citizens and that all conditions existed to try them in Croatia. Both were arrested by Zadar's police earlier in the week and brought before the County Court investigating judge, who ruled detention pending trial. The Zadar police has reported that Sliskovic lived in the Zadar region under the false name of Jakov Gudelj and Vlajic under the false name of Josip Tomic. The two fugitive suspects are also hiding under false names, Pasko Ljubicic as Toni Raic and Vlado Cosic as Ivan Vuleta. (hina) ha