THE HAGUE, Nov 10 (Hina) - Defence attorney for brothers Zoran, Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreskic requested in The Hague on Wednesday their release, saying in the opening statement that the evidence and witnesses against the three Bosnian
Croats were not convincing. The defence requested that Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic, who gave themselves up to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), be released on bail until a verdict by the trial Chamber. The Kupreskic's have been indicted for having taken part in the persecution of Moslems in Ahmici, as well as in the killing of residents of the village in which more than 100 Moslems were killed on April 16, 1993. The Prosecution on Tuesday asked for a sentence for Zoran Kupreskic not less than 20 years in prison, 15 for his brother Mirjan and 12 for Vlatko. The defence said the trial contradicted the claims by the prosecution that there was no organised military u
THE HAGUE, Nov 10 (Hina) - Defence attorney for brothers Zoran,
Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreskic requested in The Hague on Wednesday
their release, saying in the opening statement that the evidence
and witnesses against the three Bosnian Croats were not
convincing.
The defence requested that Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic, who gave
themselves up to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), be released on bail until a verdict by the trial
Chamber.
The Kupreskic's have been indicted for having taken part in the
persecution of Moslems in Ahmici, as well as in the killing of
residents of the village in which more than 100 Moslems were killed
on April 16, 1993.
The Prosecution on Tuesday asked for a sentence for Zoran Kupreskic
not less than 20 years in prison, 15 for his brother Mirjan and 12
for Vlatko.
The defence said the trial contradicted the claims by the
prosecution that there was no organised military unit in Ahmici and
that Ahmici was an undefended village, and thus, an illegitimate
military goal.
The defence also dismissed the prosecution's thesis that the Croats
had an aim to eliminate Moslems.
The claim that Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic participated in any kind
of planning of persecution was dismissed because they were "little
people" who were not members of the Croatian defence council (HVO)
during the crime in Ahmici.
Regarding the accusation that Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic had taken
part in the killing of a four-member family, the defence said that
on that day the two had been near a warehouse where their families
had been located, proving the inconsistency of witnesses.
The defence requested the release of Vlatko Kupreskic on all counts
of the indictment, saying that not one piece of evidence had been
presented by the prosecution for most of the items in the
indictment.
During the year-long trial not one witness said that he saw Vlatko
Kupreskic "acting in military service", and not one witness had
said that the indictee had had any military, political or other
authority to be able to participate in preparations for the
persecution of Moslems.
The defence dismissed claims that Vlatko had been a member of the
HVO, stressing that he had been unable to serve the army due to
cardiac difficulties.
Vlatko Kupreskic, who was also accused for participating in the
murder of Fata Pezer and the wounding of Dzenana Pezer, had at the
time been in a shelter, which was confirmed by several witnesses,
the defence said.
Zoran and Mirjan Kupreskic gave themselves up to the ICTY in October
1997, while Vlatko was arrested by the Stabilisation Force at the
end of the same year.
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