ZAGREB MOBSTERS WANT TO BE DEFENDED BY THEIR ORIGINAL ATTORNEYS

ZAGREB, Oct 23 (Hina) - Zagreb mobsters will be defended by their original attorneys who last Monday left the courtroom before the beginning of the trial, dissatisfied with the fact that their clients will be tried at the Zagreb County Prison gym at Remetinec. #L# At the beginning of the trial on Monday, the president of the panel of judges, Ratko Scekic, asked ten indictees if they wanted to be represented by their original attorneys or by court-appointed attorneys. Miroslav Vukovic-Olio is the only indictee who accepted to be defended by a court-appointed attorney. The main hearing was discontinued until all medical experts, who testified about the ability of Miljenko Zaja Krojf, third on the indictment, to follow the trial, are gathered. Zaja is undergoing medical treatment for injuries he suffered in an assassination attempt last year. The indictment against the Zagreb mobsters included 18 indictees, however, several days before the beginning of the trial the prosecution dropped charges against Tomislav Marinac in exchange for his cooperating in the trial. As the proceedings against indictees Gordan Kolaric and Zoran Crnojevic are conducted separately and indictee Zoran Pripuz is at large, 13 Zagreb mobsters are on trial. Apart from association into a criminal organisation, the Zagreb mobsters, of whom most were arrested late last November, are also charged with five murders and four attempted murders, extortion, drug abuse, fraud etc. (hina) rml