Ante Gudic and Andjelko Botic pleaded not guilty before the Split County Court War Crimes Chamber to all counts of an indictment which charges them with mistreating and killing two prisoners.
Botic said the "Military Police Crime Service, or the person who ordered them, did everything to cover up the death of the prisoner... The Crime Service staff suggested I say that Bulovic had attempted to escape but I refused and, unfortunately, this is why I have been in jail for two and a half years for something I didn't do".
Gudic and Botic are most frequently mentioned in the indictment regarding the attempted escape of civilian Nenad Knezevic and his and prisoner Gojko Bulovic's deaths.
Gudic said he had not participated in the interrogation and physical and mental abuse of prisoners, which he added had been done by other members of the Military Police and the Security and Intelligence Service.
He also denied having been in any way connected to Bulovic's death.
The trial is expected to end next week when closing arguments will be presented, by which time the indictment is also expected to be amended in line with an instruction from the Supreme Court, which last year quashed a 2002 ruling which had acquitted the defendants.
Four accused are attending the trial while the rest are at large. A warrant has been issued for their arrest.