ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Zeljko Dumancic, attorney for Tihomir Oreskovic, who was arrested in Gospic on Tuesday with four other Gospic residents on suspicion of war crimes, on Saturday dismissed yesterday's statement by Interior
Minister Sime Lucin that one of the suspects had admitted crimes against Serb civilians in the Gospic area and was accusing the other four suspects. "None of the five suspects has admitted having committed the criminal acts they are charged with," Dumancic told reporters today. He read out and distributed to reporters copies of the suspects' testimonies before Rijeka County Court investigating judge Sajonara Culina of yesterday. According to the copies, Oreskovic pleaded not guilty, saying he considered the proceedings to be "a political process, partly based on press headlines," as well as that he would use silence as defence. The same was stated by Ivan Jovanovic, Joso Miletic, M
ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Zeljko Dumancic, attorney for Tihomir
Oreskovic, who was arrested in Gospic on Tuesday with four other
Gospic residents on suspicion of war crimes, on Saturday dismissed
yesterday's statement by Interior Minister Sime Lucin that one of
the suspects had admitted crimes against Serb civilians in the
Gospic area and was accusing the other four suspects.
"None of the five suspects has admitted having committed the
criminal acts they are charged with," Dumancic told reporters
today. He read out and distributed to reporters copies of the
suspects' testimonies before Rijeka County Court investigating
judge Sajonara Culina of yesterday. According to the copies,
Oreskovic pleaded not guilty, saying he considered the proceedings
to be "a political process, partly based on press headlines," as
well as that he would use silence as defence. The same was stated by
Ivan Jovanovic, Joso Miletic, Martin Markovic and Ivica Rozic, who
said their apprehension was "a political process and a lie of the
system aimed at vilifying Gospic, its residents and soldiers."
Reminding that only Oreskovic had an attorney at his side during the
police questioning, Dumancic dismissed the possibility that some
of the suspects had confessed the crimes. Oreskovic has taken a lie-
detector test and passed it, the attorney said.
Dumancic said he had not seen the official police record of the
questioning and added that it could not be used as evidence in the
proceedings. Lucin's statement is yet another proof that political
pressure is being exerted on this case, he said.
"I believe that the Minister, in the absence of incriminating
evidence, has with this statement tried to provoke the defence,
which will no longer announce its next steps," Dumancic said.
The case is being turned into a media spectacle, the attorney said
adding, "the political persecution of Croatian soldiers is in
somebody's political interest."
Dumancic also informed reporters that the health condition of
Rozic, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, has
deteriorated. Last night, Rozic was transferred from prison to a
Rijeka hospital and then to Zagreb's prison infirmary.
(hina) rml