BOSNIAN SERBS TO APPEAR BEFORE CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL ON DECEMBER 10

ZAGREB, Nov 30 (Hina) - Bosnian Serbs Mladen Radic, Miroslav Kvocka, Zoran Zigic and Milojica Kos will attend a hearing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on December 10, the Tribunal said in a statement on Monday. The four will enter a plea to new charges brought against them in an amended indictment issued on November 9. "The amended indictment consolidates into one single indictment the charges which were initially brought against the four accused in two separate indictments, namely the Omarska indictment and the Keraterm indictment, issued on February 13, 1995 and July 21, 1995 respectively." The amended indictment also contains new charges against all four. "All of them are now accused of 'persecutions of Bosnian Moslems, Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs in the Prijedor area, on political, racial and religious grounds. The persecutions included the following means: murder..., torture and beating..., sexual assault and rape..., harassment, humiliation and psychological abuse..., confinement...'. Such persecutions are qualified as a crime against humanity (Article 5 of the Statute)," the Tribunal said. All charges against the four accused for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (Article 2 of the Statute) have been withdrawn. According to the indictment, Miroslav Kvocka was for a brief period of time commander of a camp, and then deputy to new commander, Zeljko Meakic. Mladen Radic and Milojica Kos were shift commanders in the camp, while Zoran Zigic allegedly frequently entered camp grounds to abuse, beat, torture and/or kill prisoners. The total count of charges against the four has been decreased in the amended indictment. (hina) lml