ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - Bringing his closing statement to an end, Zagreb County State Attorney Radovan Santek requested the Zagreb County Court Panel of Judges to find Dinko Sakic guilty of war crimes against civilians, and sentence
him to 20 years in prison. He also requested that Sakic not be released on bail during a possible appeal procedure. Sakic is the former commander of the Jasenovac concentration camp during the Independent State of Croatia (NDH, 1941-1945). Santek asked that the Panel of Judges take into consideration that Sakic even today feels no remorse for his actions, he at no time expressed sorrow for the victims, and does not seem to absorb the perniciousness of the regime under which he served, and which implemented nazi-fascist and racial laws. "The prosecution has proved all counts on which Sakic has been charged," Santek stressed, adding it was unquestionable that Sakic had indeed been comman
ZAGREB, Sept 22 (Hina) - Bringing his closing statement to an end,
Zagreb County State Attorney Radovan Santek requested the Zagreb
County Court Panel of Judges to find Dinko Sakic guilty of war
crimes against civilians, and sentence him to 20 years in prison. He
also requested that Sakic not be released on bail during a possible
appeal procedure.
Sakic is the former commander of the Jasenovac concentration camp
during the Independent State of Croatia (NDH, 1941-1945).
Santek asked that the Panel of Judges take into consideration that
Sakic even today feels no remorse for his actions, he at no time
expressed sorrow for the victims, and does not seem to absorb the
perniciousness of the regime under which he served, and which
implemented nazi-fascist and racial laws.
"The prosecution has proved all counts on which Sakic has been
charged," Santek stressed, adding it was unquestionable that Sakic
had indeed been commander of a camp in which liquidation had been
carried out and in which about 2,000 prisoners had died during the
time he had been commander due to starvation, hard physical labour,
abuse and difficult conditions in general.
According to Santek, the prosecution has proved Sakic's personal
responsibility for the deaths of Mile Boskovic, Avram Montilj, Leon
Perera, another unidentified prisoner who Sakic had shot to death
for stealing a cob of corn, and his participation in the "hunting
game" when Ustashi officials shot at the prisoners from the command
building.
Santek held that Sakic was responsible for all the tortures, abuse
and killings that were carried out by Ustashi officials at the time
Sakic was commander of the camp.
"They did these acts under his orders," Santek said, stressing
Sakic was guilty of not preventing and punishing such acts which he
surely knew about.
"Sakic is also responsible for the inhumane conditions in the camp,
and his only defence that he had only carried out orders cannot be
accepted, because as commander he could directly influence the
functioning of the camp," Santek stressed.
Comparing provisions of the international law of war which
stipulates humane treatment of civilians and prisoners, and events
in the Jasenovac camp, Santek concluded the regime in the camp could
be described as inhumane. He added that because of mass liquidation
during 1942 and 1943, the camp could also be called the "camp of
death".
Speaking about aggravating circumstances, Santek said before
taking the above mentioned post, Sakic had been acquainted with
events in the camp and had done nothing to change them.
Explaining his request for the harshest possible sentence, which is
twenty years in prison according to the most lenient law for the
defendant, that is according to the old basic criminal law, Santek
stressed Sakic had committed the most grievous and heinous of
crimes, war crime against civilians, which has no statute of
limitations, and there is no basis for a more lenient punishment.
The trial continues on September 27.
(hina) lml