WELCOME TO IWPRS TRIBUNAL UPDATE No. 467, September 22, 2006 GLAVAS CASE RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT CROATIAN JUDICIARY Despite allegations that he is pressuring witnesses, a Croatian politician indicted on war crimes charges is allowed to walk free. By Drago Hedl in Osijek
COURTSIDE: MARTIC WITNESS SAYS KNIN PRISON PERFECT Wartime prison governor claims his men never allowed assaults on non-Serbs. By Goran Jungvirth in Zagreb BRIEFLY NOTED: SESELJ INDICTMENT TO BE CUT FOR SPEEDIER JUSTICE CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ASKS FOR ROLE IN CERMAK-MARKAC TRIAL KRAJISNIK JUDGEMENT SET FOR SEPT 27 MORE DELAYS IN LUBANGA CASE **** NEW AT IWPR ****************************************************************** IWPR LAUNCHES CENTRAL ASIAN NEWS AGENCY: News Briefing Central Asia is a new concept in regional reporting, comprising analysis and news behind the news in Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. 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By Drago Hedl in Osijek A court in Croatia has come under fire for allowing an indicted war crimes suspect to remain at large while his case is investigated, even though prosecutors have warned that this could jeopardise the fairness of the trial. Branimir Glavas, a former general and member of parliament who has been one of the most powerful politicians in Croatia over the past 15 years, is accused of crimes against Serb civilians in Osijek, a city in eastern Slavonia near the border with Serbia, during the Croatian war in 1991. The Zagreb District Courts handling of the matter has been criticised as lax, and although this prosecution was generated locally, it has rung alarm bells among those worried about whether Croatias judiciary is ready to take over war crimes cases referred to it by the Hague tribunal, as part of the latters completion strategy. Three months after the investigation into his case began, Glavas is still a free man, despite repeated requests from prosecutors to place him in custody. They have argued that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the accused is impeding the investigation by intimidating witnesses into changing their testimony. But the Zagreb judge leading the investigation, Zdenko Posavec, has turned down all requests for custody, saying there is no proof that Glavas was behind any threats. Charges brought against Glavas after a year-long investigation conducted by leading crime scene expert Vladimir Faber include the murder of at least two Serb civilians and the unlawful detention and mistreatment of many others. The investigation followed claims by Krunoslav Fehir, a former member of a Croatian unit under Glavas's command, that the general ordered gruesome extrajudicial executions of Serbs in Osijek. Fehir alleged that Glavas ordered civilians to be imprisoned in his wartime headquarters, the National Defence Secretariat, where they were interrogated, tortured and finally killed. The alleged acts of torture included forcing acid from car batteries down their throats. Fehir, who was only 16 at the time, admitted taking part in these crimes. He told Croatian investigators that one of the detainees, Cedomir Vuckovic, died shortly after he was forced to drink acid. He said that another Serb who had seen what happened, Djordje Petkovic, was executed on Glavas's order. Petkovic's body was never found. Faber was dispatched from Zagreb to investigate allegations of war crimes in the city, because it had become apparent that the local police force would not be able to do so. The investigation was then shifted from Osijek to Zagreb for the sake of impartiality. In April this year, Faber completed his investigation and brought charges against both Glavas and Fehir. A month later, Glavas was stripped of his parliamentary immunity so that the state prosecutor could start criminal proceedings. The case is now being overseen by an investigating judge. Despite the serious nature of the accusations, there is no sign that Glavas will be arrested any time soon. Investigating judge Zdenko Posavec even allowed Glavas to travel to Germany this summer to watch the football World Cup. According to police in Osijek, former soldiers who served under Glavas subsequently threatened some of the witnesses, leading the state prosecutor to demand his arrest with no success. The case of Glavas and Fehir causes great concern and raises questions about Croatia's ability to conduct war crimes investigations efficiently, said Mary Wyckoff, who heads the law department of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europes mission in Zagreb. This case shows how important it is to have adequate protection measures for witnesses who cooperate with the judiciary. Wyckoff said respecting the rule of law is central to any war crimes investigation, and that those working on them should get all the support they need to do their job well. The investigative procedure should strengthen the public's confidence in state institutions responsible for criminal investigations and proceedings. If this procedure is conducted properly, then its results whatever they are - will be accepted as legitimate, she explained. Because of the way the whole case has been handled, many observers suggest it has descended into farce. Several legal experts told IWPR it was scandalous that Glavas has been allowed to defend himself as a free man. They argue that there are grounds for immediate detention, specifically the gravity of the allegations and the indications that the accused has used his liberty to influence witnesses. Several witnesses who were questioned by the investigating judge have already significantly altered the original testimonies they gave to police. Glavas even threatened some witnesses in the presence of investigative judge Posavec. Ladislav Bognar, a university professor who was in the area where Glavas was in charge at the time of the events of 1991, says he found himself in an alarming position when he gave a statement to the authorities. Since the things I was saying were not really in Glavas's favour, he attacked me right in front of judge Posavec. He called me a communist bastard and said I would get what I deserved, said Bognar. Glavas did not stop there he launched his own web site on which he started posting witness testimonies. He stopped only when the investigating judge asked him to remove the material from the internet. But he still used his website and media appearances to insult Faber, the investigating police officer, calling him an immoral freak and human trash. Nor did he spare other officials, calling State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic rotten as a rotten tooth and describing the judiciary as corrupt and politically influenced. I would much rather be tried in Banja Luka in Republika Srpska, because their judiciary is much more honest than Croatia's, he said in one of his public outbursts. The accused also lashed out at Croatian parliament speaker Vladimir Seks for dismissing his allegations that the case against him was a politically assembled process. Seks was a senior official in Osijek during the Croatian war, and Glavas has repeatedly tried to shift the blame to him. Glavas denies all charges against him and claims he is a victim of a witch-hunt, for which he blames Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader, who expelled him from his Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, party last year. Asked to comment on why Glavas is still a free man, a high-ranking HDZ source said, This in fact proves that politicians are not interfering in the work of the judiciary. We don't have to agree with their decisions, but as you can see, we don't try to change them, either. Drago Hedl is a regular IWPR contributor based in Croatia. COURTSIDE: MARTIC WITNESS SAYS KNIN PRISON PERFECT Wartime prison governor claims his men never allowed assaults on non-Serbs. By Goran Jungvirth in Zagreb The former warden of the Knin prison this week told the trial of the former leader of the rebel Serb authorities in Croatia, Milan Martic, that conditions there were perfect. Stevo Plejo said inmates received three meals a day, could bathe two times a week and were examined regularly by a doctor and a nurse. Martic, the former president of the self-proclaimed Serb Autonomous District of Krajina (SAO Krajina), is charged with leading the local police force and other armed forces in the expulsion and murder of non-Serbs in Croatia between 1991 and 1995. He is also accused of the prolonged and routine imprisonment of hundreds of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians in detention facilities within and outside Croatia, including prison camps located in Knin, SAO Krajina's capital. The indictment further states that conditions in these facilities were inhumane and that repeated torture, beatings, sexual assaults and killings of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilian detainees took place regularly. Plejo, however, rejected allegations that inmates were tortured and beaten by Martic's police and said he was insulted by the notion that he had assisted this by giving them access to the prison. He said he never allowed detainees to be harassed, though he admitted there had been several minor incidents, the perpetrators of which were punished. Plajo said he heard these incidents took place in the summer of 1991, before he began work there, a time when the prison wasnt controlled by professional guards. He added that those responsible for mistreating detainees were members of the Territorial Defence and the police force. Martic was not in charge of the Knin prison at that time, he said, because it was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. During cross-examination by the prosecution, Plajo confirmed there were two elderly men among the detainees, aged 71 and 86, but he said he was not sure whether they were soldiers or civilians. They were released after six days anyway, he added. Earlier in the week, Martics brother in law, Milan Dragisic, also testified in his defence. Dragisic was a wartime Territorial Defence commander in Knin and was Martics direct subordinate. He told the judges that the accused was not responsible for any war crimes, because he did not have the necessary political or executive power in SAO Krajina. According to Dragisic, it was Milan Babic, as the then SAO Krajina prime minister, who had political and military power in his hands. Babic committed suicide in March this year, one day before finishing his testimony as a prosecution witness in Martics trial. He had previously pleaded guilty to persecuting Croats in Krajina during the war, but said Martic was the practical executor, who ordered the murders, rapes and tortures of non-Serbs, with the aim of expelling them from Serb-held territories. This week, Dragisic dismissed Babics claims as untrue, saying Babic didnt want to share his power with anyone. When the prosecution presented him with documents showing that Martic issued orders to the Territorial Defence units in Knin, Dragisic reluctantly confirmed that the accused had been in command of local armed forces including these units. The trial continues next week. Goran Jungvirth is an IWPP reporter in Zagreb BRIEFLY NOTED: SESELJ INDICTMENT TO BE CUT FOR SPEEDIER JUSTICE Prosecutors have agreed to cut the indictment against ultra-nationalist Serbian politician Vojislav Seselj. Currently Seselj is charged with 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, torture and inhumane acts. He is accused of forming a joint criminal enterprise with the late Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and the fugitive Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic between 1991 and 1993 in order to create a Greater Serbia. At a status conference last week, Presiding Judge Alfons Orie requested that the prosecution look into ways of streamlining the indictment. Senior trial attorney Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff said in a submission on September 21 that the prosecution is willing to drop all charges relating to Western Slavonia and is prepared to withdraw allegations holding Seselj responsible for crimes in Vocin, Hum, Bokane and Kraskovic. This will reduce the number of witnesses and significantly speed up the judicial process. However, Uertz-Retzlaff made it clear that the prosecution team would want to cite evidence relating to Western Slavonia as proof of a joint criminal enterprise in this region. If this is not possible, Uertz-Retzlaff said the prosecution would not drop these charges, as doing so would seriously harm its case. The prosecution is also prepared to drop all charges in two municipalities in Bosnia Brcko and Bijeljina on the proviso that evidence from there could still be used to establish the existence of a joint criminal enterprise in Bosnia. Lastly, the prosecution said it was prepared to entirely drop from the indictment one crime site on the mountain of Borasnica in Nevesinje, where 19 Muslim men are alleged to have been killed by paramilitary units known as Seseljs men. Judge Orie announced that Seseljs trial will begin on November 2. CROATIAN GOVERNMENT ASKS FOR ROLE IN CERMAK-MARKAC TRIAL The Croatian government on September 18 applied to assist in the trial of two former army generals charged with crimes allegedly committed during a Croatian military offensive in August 1995. The authorities want leave to file a brief for an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, in the case of Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac. They are charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise alleged to have taken place during and after the Croatian militarys Operation Storm, which was launched in 1995 to reclaim the Serb-held Krajina region. Croatian president Franjo Tudman, the former defence minister Gojko Susak and other Croatian officials are also accused of being part of the joint criminal enterprise whose objective was the permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region by force and persecution. The Croatian government asked to be an amicus curiae in order to assist in the determination of the truth regarding the allegation of the prosecution that the then state and military leadership of the Republic of Croatia participated in the joint criminal enterprise. The Tribunals Rules of Procedure and Evidence say that if the chamber considers it desirable for the proper determination of the case, [it may] invite or grant leave to a state, organisation or person, to appear before it and make submissions on any issue specified by the chamber. The motion, which was submitted by Croatian justice minister Ana Lovrin, proposes that the Croatian government offer assistance to the tribunal in the interpretation of historical and political facts. The justice minister goes on to say that Operation Storm was undertaken in accordance with international law, relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, and in accordance with the efforts of the international community to restrain the military offensives of the Serbian army and prepare peace negotiations. The proposed brief would be compiled by a group of renowned lawyers, historians, and scientists. Two or three representatives of the Croatian authorities would then make submissions before the trial chamber. On the same day and for the same reasons, the Croatian government also applied to appear as amicus curiae in the ongoing trial of six Bosnian Croat officials, Jadranko Prlic, Bruno Stojic, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petkovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic. They stand charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include the persecution, imprisonment and expulsion of Muslims in Bosnia and Hercegovina during the 1992-94 Muslim-Croat civil war. KRAJISNIK JUDGEMENT SET FOR SEPT 27 September 27 has been set as judgement day for Momcilo Krajisnik, the high-ranking Bosnian Serb politician charged with genocide. The verdict will be the culmination of Krajisniks marathon trial, which began in February 2004 and included testimony from 124 witnesses. The prosecution alleges that Krajisnik, along with other Bosnian Serb leaders, was responsible for the persecution of Bosnian Muslims and Croats in Serb-controlled areas at the beginning of the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict. They say this included forcible elimination of non-Serbs from large parts of the country, and widespread killings, which amounted to genocide. Krajisnik, a close associate of the former Bosnian Serb president and the tribunals top fugitive Radovan Karadzic, is considered to have been one of the most influential Bosnian Serbs political figures during the war. He was one of the founders of the Serbian Democratic Party, SDS, in Bosnia and was speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament. In his closing arguments at the end of August, prosecutor Alan Tieger called for Krajisnik to be sentenced to life if convicted, while Nicholas Stewart, his defence counsel, called for his acquittal. Krajisnik, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, claimed in a heartfelt speech at the end of his trial, I am calm, because I can state with a clean conscience before God and court that I do not feel guilty. MORE DELAYS IN LUBANGA CASE The Pre-Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court, ICC, has confirmed that the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will be delayed for a second time. Lubanga, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, made history when he became the first person to be arrested by the fledgling ICC and taken into custody in The Hague in March this year. He was the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots, or UPC, a Hema ethnic militia established in 2000 in Ituri one of several warring factions in Africas Great Lakes region. The Hema are ethnic rivals of the Lendu people, who live in the same far northeast region of the DRC, near the borders of Sudan and Uganda. Lubanga faces charges of kidnapping children and using them in front-line activities against the Lendu as well as against United Nations peacekeepers and the DRCs regular army. He should have appeared at the ICC for a pre-trial hearing in early June but this was postponed until September 28 because of escalating violence in Ituri ahead of DRCs first democratic elections in over 40 years. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo explained at the time that the spiralling violence meant that the safety of witnesses and victims who were due to participate in the Lubanga trial, could not be guaranteed. As reason for the new delay, the Pre Trial Chamber suggested that some of the evidence the prosecutor will rely on at the hearing has not yet been disclosed to the defence. The chamber said the delay was necessary to protect the rights of the accused and ensure that his defence was prepared in time for the hearing. A new date will be set at a status conference on September 26. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** TRIBUNAL UPDATE, produced since 1996, details the events and issues at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, at The Hague. These weekly reports, produced by IWPR's human rights and media training project, seek to contribute to regional and international understanding of the war crimes prosecution process. The opinions expressed in Tribunal Update are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. Tribunal Update is supported by the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry for Development and Cooperation, the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and other funders. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford Foundation. TRIBUNAL UPDATE: Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Senior Editor: John MacLeod; Hague Project Manager: Janet Anderson; Translation: Predrag Brebanovic, and others. IWPR Project Development and Support: Executive Director: Anthony Borden; Strategy & Assessment Director: Alan Davis; Managing Director: Tim Williams. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** IWPR builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice. 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