ICTY PROSECUTOR ASKS WITHDRAWAL OF INDICTMENTS AGAINST 4 CROATS

( Editorial: --> 9644 ) THE HAGUE, Dec 19 (Hina) - The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Friday requested that indictments against four Bosnian Croats be withdrawn. The prosecutors requested the withdrawal of indictments against Marinko Katava, Pero Skopljak and Ivan Santic, because they felt there were no sufficient grounds for a trial. In the interest of justice, the indictments had to be withdrawn, the prosecutors said in their request. The indictment against Stipe Alilovic was asked to be withdrawn because it had been confirmed that the indictee was dead, and had died in Amsterdam on 25 October 1995. The final decision on the withdrawal of the indictments will be reached by panels of judges authorised in the cases of the four indictees, but ICTY stressed that it was as yet unknown when the panels would convene in order to reach the decision. (hina) lm jn 191443 MET dec 97