Split based human rights organisation DOS (Dalmatian Solidarity Committee) and local human rights activist Miso Rogosic, together with a representative of HPC (Croatian Law Centre) and Otvorene Oci monitored the trial of 8 Croat men accused of the killing of 18 civilians of Serb ethnicity who had remained in former Sector South after Operation "Storm".The trial was an amalgamation of 3 separate cases heard at the same time. Judge, Milan Petricic felt it was appropriate to carry out the proceedings in this manner, based on the fact that one of the accused was the same for all cases, the evidence and the witnesses were the same and the expert testimony (pathologist and balistics expert) was the same in all cases. The judge also felt that if the cases were separated then priority would have to be given to one and as he viewed the chronology of events relevant, viewed the necessity of the cases to be heard concurrently an important factor.
For the killing of 1 man, Mr. Sava Solaje in Ocestvo, near Knin on August 20, 1995 Mr. Nikola Rasic, Mr. Ivan Jakovljevic and Mr. Zvonimir Lasan-Zorobabel were accused. Mr. Nikola Rasic was also accused of the attempted murder and illegal seizing of property of Mrs. Jeka Tanjga, in the village of Losici on the same day.
On August 27, 1995 Milka Borak, Dusan Borak, Kosovka Borak, Sava Borak, Grozdana Borak, Vasilj Borak and Marija Borak, all from the Hamlet of Gosic were killed. Mr. Pero Perkovic, Mr. Nikola Rasic, Mr. Zlatko Ladovic and Mr. Ivica Petric were accused of this crime. At the same time, Durada Canak was killed in the hamlet of Zrmanja and accused were Mr. Ivica Petric and Mr. Milenko Hrstic.
In September 1995, international media widely covered the killing of Dusan Dukic, Spiro Beric, Jovo Beric, Radivoj Beric, Marija Beric, Milka Beric, Milka Beric, Marko Beric, Jovan Beric and Mirko Pokrajac in the village of Varivode. For this crime, Mr. Nikola Rasic, Mr. Ivan Jakovljevic, Mr. Zlatko Ladovic and Mr. Nedjeljka Mijic were accused.
The trial lasted for 3 months, in which the state prosecutor Mrs. Marija Rukavina presented the court with evidence, more than 40 witnesses on behalf of the state and the accused were called and the judge visited the scene of the crimes in Varivode, Gosic and Zrmanja. The closing statements of the prosecutor and defence lawyers, in which the prosecutor had charged the accused with "taking the law into their own hands" and making witnesses too afraid to testify and the defence lawyers had called for the freedom of their clients were heard on July 10. The judge and jury took several days to consider the evidence and on July 15 the verdict was announced.
Mr. Ivica Petric was found guilty of the murder of Mr. Durada Canak and sentenced to 6 years in prison. Mr. Nikola Rasic was found guilty of the attempted murder of Mrs. Jeka Tanjga and for seizing her property and sentenced to 18 months in jail. The judge decided that Mr. Rasic should be given a conditional release, based on the fact he was a "family man" and had already served 9 months in jail. For all other crimes the accused were found not guilty and released, this due to the court decision that there was insufficient evidence of a respectable quality to find them guilty.
However fair the verdict, in that there was a distinct lack of evidence to convict the accused, the court proceedings were not without obstructions. The balisitcs expert, Mr. Damir Catipovic, reported that his findings were incomplete for a number of reasons. Not all material that needed to be analysed was brought from the scenes of the crimes at one time and that the initial investigation was not detailed enough to be accurate. He told the court, that he was unable to reconstruct the crimes accurately since the bodies had been removed and no markings left. He had relied on photographic evidence to reconstruct the scenes. Also a problem was the time lapse between the crimes and the investigation, this had led to disturbances in the areas and inconclusive reports with regard to the weapons used. Mr. Catipovic visited the scenes at Gosic and Varivode and was unable to find any conclusive evidence. He did not, however, visit the scene of the crime at Zrmanja.
The Pathologist concluded that the exhumation of bodies months after the crimes rendered most of his findings inconlusive. In order for his report to be concrete evidence, he said that the time lapse needed to be shorter and ideally examinations needed to be carried out before bodies were buried. There were also reports that the initial investigation had been slowed down and hindered due to the absence of qualified and equiped teams. Requests to the Ministry of Justice in Zagreb had apparently gone unheeded. Shortage of personnel had meant that a full and complete investigation had not taken place.
In addition, claims by the accused with regard to their treatment while in detention and the question of their status as soldiers questioned the legality of the proceedings before they reached the court. All the accused, with the exception of Mr. Lasan-Zorobabel, who gave no comment, and Mr. Hrstic, complained of physical and psychological maltreatment while being held in detention for questioning. Complaints were made about the absence of food, water and sleep while being questioned as well as physical aggression.
Allegedly, the police questioning the accused, used their fists and also truncheons to beat the men around the head, their kidneys, back and legs. Mr. Perkovic complained that the police had beat him until he "saw red" and that also one of the policemen present told him, "we are not local, we are direct from the Ministry and can kill you if necessary...we must clear this case, because the whole world is looking at us". Mr. Petric claimed that the police had told him "maybe we will kill you". All of those who claimed to have been beaten also reported cuts, bruises and swollen limbs.
At the time of the crimes, the men claimed to have been members of the Croatian military, but upon their arrest say they were given demobilisation papers which were back-dated to before the crimes were committed. Mr. Rasic says he was demobilised August 30, but upon his arrest was given papers dated August 1. Mr. Mijic claims to have been a serving soldier until October 13, but when he was taken for questioning he was handed papers back-dating his release from the army. Mr. Hrstic and Mr. Perkovic complained of similar proceedings. Whilst they were in prison, they were handed papers which also back-dated their release. They claim they were serving soldiers until the day of their arrest. The men also said that they were on the terrain at the time of the crimes at the order of their commanding officer, Stipe Gojevic (still a serving member of the Croatian army). He testified in court that he had given orders for the men to be in the areas where the crimes were committed and to go in their private vehicles but that he could not remember any details about the period after operation "Storm". All of those who claim they were still members of the Croatian army expressed their confusion, anger and concern that they had been demobilised retro-actively.
The official Croatian government statistics for deaths in the former Sectors North and South during and in the aftermath of Operation "Storm" is estimated at just over 1,000. Human rights activists working in these areas have contested these figures, based on the number of the marked graves in the cemetaries. In former Sector South alone there are more than 800 marked graves (more than half without names) and this figure, they claim, is without those unmarked graves which can be found in some villages and the further possibility of mass graves in the area.
Human rights groups are also concerned about the number of deaths of elderly Serbs (who stayed behind after Operation "Storm") in comparison to the number of perpertrators apprehended. This is in addition to the number of deaths which have been recorded since November 1995 (more than 80 new graves in former Sector South). Furthermore, they contest that the killings of Serb civilians in such an arbitary way and the failure of the authorities to act has contributed to the reluctance of Serbs from former Sector South to return to their homes.
For many of the human rights groups working in former Sector South, this trial was a trial not of the 8 men accused, but rather the policy of the Croatian government with respect to their "policy" towards former Sector South. The lack of investigation and the inconclusive reports of the pathologist and balistics expert, coupled with the retro-active demobilisation of the accused has left them with little doubt that the trial was stage-managed to appease the international community and others concerned about Croatia's human rights record.
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