The fourth defendant Rade Bjelos was acquitted of charges, according to a ruling made by the Karlovac County Court.
Miroslav Bijelic, Sava Padezanin, Djuro Tepsic, tried in absentia as they were beyond the reach of Croatian authorities, were found guilty of the murder of civilian Josip Obranovic. Obranovic was shot dead as he tried to flee Slunjska Selnica, the area under the control of Serb rebels, on 15 May 1992.
Their commander Rade Peles, who stood trial at the Karlovac court for the same war crime, already served his ten-year prison term.
This is the second trial of Bijelic, Padezanin and Tepsic in absentia.
In their first trial in 1996 they were given also ten years. The Supreme Court then confirmed the sentence for their commander Rade Peles and ordered a retrial for the remaining four defendants due to procedural omissions in the first trial.
According to the explanation by the presiding judge in the retrial, Ante Ujevic, Rade Bjelos was acquitted as it was established that the man who was charged by the Karlovac County Court had the name Rade Bjelos but was not the man with the same name who participated in the killing of Obranovic.