SISAK, Oct 4 (Hina) - The trial against Nebojsa Jelic, indicted of having had committed war crimes against humanity and prisoners of war as a member of Serb paramilitary troops in Croatia during the war, continued before the County
Court in Sisak Wednesday. Jelic is charged with having committed war crimes against 16 imprisoned active and reserve Croatian police officers on June 26, 1991. Tortured police officers, Darko Kauric, Nikola Skrljac, Ivan Horvatic and Josip Jankovic from Glina and a witness for the defence, Zivko Kljaic took the witness stand on Wednesday. Kauric testified he and a colleague, Milan Spoljaric, had been ambushed by three members of the Serb paramilitary in the morning of June 26, 1991. He identified Jelic as being the person who approached him and continuously hit him with a gun stub in the neck and shoulder until he was finally stopped by his commander. Kauric said he had known Jelic before as being an extreme ch
SISAK, Oct 4 (Hina) - The trial against Nebojsa Jelic, indicted of
having had committed war crimes against humanity and prisoners of
war as a member of Serb paramilitary troops in Croatia during the
war, continued before the County Court in Sisak Wednesday.
Jelic is charged with having committed war crimes against 16
imprisoned active and reserve Croatian police officers on June 26,
1991.
Tortured police officers, Darko Kauric, Nikola Skrljac, Ivan
Horvatic and Josip Jankovic from Glina and a witness for the
defence, Zivko Kljaic took the witness stand on Wednesday.
Kauric testified he and a colleague, Milan Spoljaric, had been
ambushed by three members of the Serb paramilitary in the morning of
June 26, 1991. He identified Jelic as being the person who
approached him and continuously hit him with a gun stub in the neck
and shoulder until he was finally stopped by his commander.
Kauric said he had known Jelic before as being an extreme chetnik.
He testified about the continuation of his torture in a social
centre in Glina where 16 imprisoned Croatian police officers had
been taken.
They treated us well, gave us food and water until Jelic arrived. He
yelled at the local Serbs for having had "given food to Ustashi, for
not having killed them", and stormed into the room in which the
policemen had been detained with a machine gun in his hand. He
attacked the commander of Glina's police station, Ivan Kvakic, hit
him with the gun's butt on the face several times until his face was
bloody, and broke his glasses, Kauric testified.
He also spoke about Jelic's physical assault on other police
officers as well and the continued beating while transporting them
to an unfinished villa in Dragotina in a van.
Kauric said he had lost consciousness in the van from being hit in
the head by Jelic. When he came to he was covered in blood, he said.
Kauric continued testifying about Jelic's maltreatment.
During the trial Jelic criticised Kauric for lying 99 per cent of
the time.
You "construed" identical stories, but your stories vary, he
asserted. He claimed Kauric had abused him and pulled him by the ear
in a police station in Glina on April 3 of this year, where he was
held in custody having been arrested after returning to Croatia
from Yugoslavia.
According to Jelic, he was abused at the police station.
I never mistreated anybody, he claimed.
Nikola Skljac testified Jelic had hit him with the blunt side of an
axe while being transported in the van, causing blood to flow from
the wound. He recalled Jelic had threatened the detained Croatian
police officers to have them slaughtered one by one in a nearby Serb
Orthodox church.
Ivan Horvatic said the defendant had hit him with the axe on the head
in the van, and continued beating him in the Dragotina villa.
A witness for the defence, Kljajic, painted Jelic as a good man,
unless he was drunk.
During yesterday's session, all witnesses testified to having seen
Jelic in a black uniform and busby with chetnik insignia.
The trial is scheduled to continue on October 24.
(hina) lml