Cermak and Markac arrived aboard a Croatia Airlines flight from Amsterdam. They were met by families, friends, fellow fighters, and their attorneys.
Abroad the same flight was also Marijo Cerkez, a Bosnian Croat acquitted by the Hague tribunal's Appeals Chamber yesterday after seven years in detention based on a decision in the Kordic-Cerkez case which will be issued on December 17. Cerkez will proceed to Split, where he will be met by his family.
The Appeals Chamber yesterday accepted an interlocutory appeal filed by Cermak and Markac's attorneys, granting them provisional release after several months of attempts by defence counsel and the Croatian Government in that direction.
Although they met all terms for provisional release since their voluntary surrender on March 11, the trial chamber rejected requests to that effect on two occasions, in April and September. The last possibility was the interlocutory appeal, lodged with the Appeals Chamber in late October. The appeal was endorsed by the Prosecutor's Office, setting a precedent in the tribunal's practice.
While on provisional release, Cermak and Markac will have to abide by very strict rules stipulated by the Hague tribunal. The Croatian Government guarantees that they will abide by the rules.
The two must not leave their place of residence in Croatia, must give their passports to the Interior Ministry, inform the Interior Ministry and the Hague tribunal's Registrar of their addresses three days upon arrival, report to the local police station once a week, and agree to a check of their whereabouts by the Interior Ministry, Government officials and tribunal representatives.
Cermak and Markac must not contact or influence victims or potential witnesses, request immediate access to archives, destroy evidence, or talk to anyone about their case, including the media, apart from their lawyers and immediate family, they are not allowed to talk among themselves or with other indictees, they must strictly abide by the Government's demands in connection with the guarantees it provided for them, and return to The Hague when the trial chamber asks them to.