SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER APPEAL OF TUTA'S DEFENCE ON OCTOBER 13

ZAGREB, Oct 5 (Hina) - Croatia's Supreme Court will consider Mladen Naletilic Tuta's defence attorney's appeal against the Zagreb County Court's decision on his extradition to the International Tribunal in The Hague, at a session convened for 10.00 am Wednesday, October 13 this year. Mladen Naletilic Tuta will not attend the Supreme Court's session, but his defence counsel Kresimir Krsnik and a County State Attorney, Marija Jambor, will be present. The Hague-based International War Crimes Tribunal (ICTY) has issued an indictment against Naletilic Tuta which alleges that this Bosnian Croat committed crimes against humanity and seriously violated the Geneva Conventions as well as laws and customs of war while he was a commander of the an execution squad from April 1993 to January 1994 in southern Bosnia-Herzegovina. His extradition to The Hague was demanded on December 21, 1998. The Zagreb County Court allowed Naletilic's deferral to the ICTY on September 1 this year. Naletilic's defence, however, appealed this court ruling claiming that the (ICTY) indictment was too much generalised and requesting that he should not be handed over before the completion of a court procedure that is being led against Naletilic in Croatia. (hina) jn ms