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Croatia: Ex-commander sentenced to 10 yearsŽ jail for war crimes
[ADN Kronos] A former commander has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for war crimes committed against Serb civilians during Croatia's war of independence in the early 1990s. A court in Zagreb found Branimir Glavas had given orders to a paramilitary unit under his command to murder six Serbs in the eastern city of Osijek in 1991.A Croatian court on Friday sentenced Glavas and five members of a paramilitary unit to a total of 40 years in jail for crimes against Serb civilians. The former general, now a far-right MP, was charged last year after the Croatian parliament partially lifted his legal immunity. He denied any wrongdoing. He blamed the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), from which he was expelled in 2006 after clashing with prime minister Ivo Sanader. Glavas, who was the commander of the city defense in Osijek during 1995-1995 Croatia's war of secession from the former Yugoslavia, and the five others were accused of torturing and killing at least 12 Serb civilians. According to the indictment, Glavas was charged on a "chain of command responsibility" while others participated or aided the killing. The prosecutors said Glavas gave orders for the arrest of prominent Serbs in Osijek while others participated in torturing and killing them. Several victims were tied with wire and thrown in the nearby Drava river, the prosecutors said. The trial has been marred by threats to potential witnesses and was interrupted several times due to Glavas's poor health and hospitalisation. Friday's ruling was the first case in which a Croatian court handed down a drastic sentence to a member of its own defense forces. Savo Strbac, president of a non-governmental organisation "Veritas", which investigates crimes against Serbs, said the verdict was expected but the sentences were too light considering the gravity of the crime. Glavas has been a deputy in the Croatian parliament and did not appear in the court on Friday because he was protected by MP's immunity. According to Croatian law, a person sentenced to more than five years must be detained immediately. The judge Zeljko Horvatic said the court would ask the parliament to relieve Glavas of immunity so he could be jailed. Posted by: Fred 2009-05-10 |
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