HRVATSKA KOSTAJNICA MUNICIPAL COURT ACCEPTS CHARGES

HRVATSKA KOSTAJNICA, June 6 (Hina) - The Hrvatska Kostajnica Municipal Court on Friday accepted charges against ten persons who between 13 and 15 May took part in incidents in the Kostajnica area. The ten were charged with being part of group who committed the crimes of violent and riotous behaviour, causing damages, inflicting light physical injuries, and arson, the head of the Hrvatska Kostajnica Municipal court, Mirko Abaza, said. The details of the charges were outlined by the Petrinja Municipality state attorney, Marijan Zguric. He said the indited were ten Croats from the Bosnian Posavina area (northern BH), who had settled in the Kostajnica area, and organized a protest gathering (about 150 persons) in Hrvatska Kostajnica against the return of Serbs to the Kostajnica area. The gathered were indignant about the unannounced return of a group of Serbs from the Croatian Danube region. They gathered into small groups and in the villages of Gornji Bjelovac, Mecencani and Donji Kukuruzari smashed windows and doors, broke into a dozen houses (in the property of Serbs who either lived there or had returned from eastern Croatia), destroyed furniture and caused other damages, Zguric said. In the incidents, several persons, mostly citizens of Serb nationality who were at home, were lightly injured. These crimes envisaged a prison sentence of up to five years, Zguric concluded. (hina) ha jn 061454 MET jun 97