$ COURT SPLIT, 25 Nov (Hina) - The trial of 39 members of former Croatian Serb paramilitary units started before the Split County Court Council on Monday. Twelve members, who had been accused of war crimes, appeared at the court
today, while the rest are being tried in absentia.
COUNTY
$ COURT
SPLIT, 25 Nov (Hina) - The trial of 39 members of former Croatian
Serb paramilitary units started before the Split County Court
Council on Monday. Twelve members, who had been accused of war
crimes, appeared at the court today, while the rest are being tried
in absentia. #L#
Four members of Serb paramilitary units, who appeared today at
the court, are being tried for atrocities committed against
civilians and for taking part in planting explosive at the Peruca
dam in January 1991, which caused damage amounting to more than 25
million German marks.
Seventeen members of Serb paramilitary units are being tried
in absentia for the same crimes. The group was accused, among other
things, for a hideous murder of eight Croatian policemen. The same
group is suspected of having murdered more than 20 civilians in the
Sinj area.
Four former policemen of the leader of the Croatian Serb
rebellion, Milan Martic, (who was indicted by the ICTY), are also
being tried in absentia for crimes committed against civilians, for
the planting of explosive at the Peruca dam and destruction of
churches in Dalmatian hinterland. The four policemen fled Croatia
after having committed the crimes. Out of numerous crimes they
committed, the most horrible one was when, according to the
indictment, they throttled a Croat civilian with a Croatian flag.
Eight members of the Bosnian Serb territorial defence, who
were arrested in the action aimed at liberating Croatian occupied
territories in the summer of 1995, also appeared before the court
today. They were indicted for opening fire from tanks, howitzers,
cannons and machine guns from the east coast of the lake Peruca,
for forcing civilians to flee and for other atrocities.
The same indictment also includes other six Bosnian Serbs who
fled Croatia and who are being tried in absentia.
(hina) rm jn
251815 MET nov 96