TRIAL OF ZAGREB MOBSTERS EXPECTED TO RESUME SOON

ZAGREB, Oct 24 (Hina) - The trial of Zagreb mobsters, which was to start last Monday but was postponed twice because dissatisfied defence attorneys first and then dissatisfied prosecutors left the courtroom, will resume soon, with the same prosecutors and the same, except for one, defence attorneys. The Zagreb County State Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday instructed the Zagreb County Court to urgently schedule the continuation of the trial of the "Zagreb criminal organisation." The County Prosecutor's Office explained its decision in today's statement with the need "to continue the trial without hindrance." This means that the three deputy prosecutors who yesterday left the courtroom - Dunja Pavlicek-Patak, Janjko Grlic and Petar Dragosavac - will return to the courtroom. They left the courtroom without the consent of the panel of judges, protesting against the court's decision that the trial of Miljenko Zaja Krojf, third on the indictment, be conducted separately and that the costs of appointment of court-appointed attorneys be covered by the court. The court appointed new defence attorneys instead of 13 attorneys who last Monday left the main hearing dissatisfied with the fact that 18 defendants were tried on the prison premises. However, all defendants but one yesterday decided they wanted to be represented by their original attorneys. The State Prosecutor's Office said the conduct of the three deputy prosecutors was hasty. However, it admits that the defence team got away with a similar act last week, which created the impression that there was a lack of balance to the detriment of the prosecution and led to the prosecutors' hasty act. The harshest condemnation of the prosecutors' behaviour and the decision that they should continue representing the prosecution came from the president of the Croatian Association of Judges, Vladimir Gredelj. Gredelj said today he was "surprised and appalled" that the prosecutors would get away with their conduct. "As far as my knowledge of civilised relations goes, those attorneys could only find employment selling vacuum cleaners after such an act," Gredelj said. (hina) jn rml