TRIAL OF FIVE BH CROAT WAR CRIMES SUSPECTS STARTS IN MOSTAR

MOSTAR, Nov 23 (Hina) - The trial of five Mostar Croats, accused of war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war during Croat- Muslim conflicts in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, started at the Mostar Cantonal Court on Thursday. First indictee Zeljko Dzidic, fourth indictee Erhad Poznic and fifth indictee Zoran Soldo, who surrendered in September this year and are in detention, stood mute at the beginning of the trial. Ante Anicic and Ivan Skutor, second and third on the indictment, who have not surrendered, will be tried in absence. The president of the Court Council, Mladen Jurisic, said the court had granted the prosecution's request that all five indictees be tried together. A spokesman for the Mostar Office of the U.N. Mission, Stefo Lehmann, on Wednesday criticised the intention to organise separate trials, explaining that this would lessen the gravity of the whole case. The council chairing the trial includes three Croat and two Bosniak judges. The indictment, issued this January by the Canton Prosecutor's Office, charges the five Croats with violations of the Geneva Convention. According to the indictment, from May to mid July 1993, the indictees, led by Zeljko Dzidic, beat, abused and tortured exclusively Bosniak civilians and members of the BH Army. Four BH Army members died from the torture and another eight were killed from firearms. (hina) rml