Local Justice Hakalovic: Trial Postponed
This post is also available in: Bosnian
Trial Chamber Chairman Ignjacije Dodik said that the hearing would be postponed because three witnesses, who had been invited to testify at the retrial of indictee Hakalovic, failed to appear in the courtroom.
On September 24, 2010 the Cantonal Court in Mostar acquitted Hakalovic of the charges that he deprived one person of his life and wounded another person in Gostovici village on March 23, 1993.
According to the charges, Hakalovic entered Jela Rajic’s house in the early morning hours and fired a burst of bullets from an automatic gun, killing Zvonimir Djopa. After Rajic had tried to run away with her two sons, the indictee caused her severe bodily injuries by firing a burst of bullets on both her lower legs.
Once the injured woman was taken to a hospital in Konjic, Hakalovic unlawfully detained her young sons in a basement of a house.
The Prosecution of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton appealed the verdict pronounced by the Cantonal Court in Mostar. In March this year, the Supreme Court of FBiH revoked the verdict and ordered a retrial.
The trial has been postponed until October 4, 2011.S.U.———————————————————————————————–This article is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of Balkan investigative reporting network (BIRN) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
