UN Wire Alert

Friday, April 21, 2000

War Crimes Trials In Croatia?

Meanwhile, Croatian Deputy Justice Minister Ranko Marijan said some war crimes suspects might eventually be tried in Croatia rather than in the Netherlands.

After discussions with del Ponte, Marijan said it was "not unlikely" that some cases will be tried in Croatia. If that indeed occurs, it would mark the first time the tribunal has agreed to hold trials outside the Netherlands (Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty South Slavic Service/Central Europe Online, 20 Apr).

Croat Veterans Protest Mass Grave Probe

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 veterans from Croatia's 1991 war for independence marched in Gospic yesterday to protest the continuing investigations into alleged mass murders of Serb civilians. The ICTY is searching for evidence that several dozen Serbs were killed by Croatian police and troops in 1991 at the outset of the war for Croatian independence from Yugoslavia (Reuters/Central Europe Online, 20 Apr). Forensics experts from the ICTY have discovered a quantity of human bones at a suspected mass grave site near Gospic (RFE-RL/Central Europe Online).