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Prosecutor Sanja Jukic said that the suspect had been unavailable to judicial institutions for years and that the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina had information that he was in the Republic of Croatia. She mentioned that Maric had been invited for examinations several times, but he had never responded to the invitations.
Another reason for the Prosecution’s custody order motion against the suspect was a possibility that he might influence witnesses.
“All witnesses are exposed to fear due to the things they experienced. Many of the witnesses have requested protection measures. When you see what happened in Prozor, you will understand why the witnesses are afraid to appear in court in the event that Nikola Maric is still at liberty,” the Prosecutor explained.
The Defence objected to the custody motion, proposing to the Court to order prohibiting measures against the suspect instead.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina will render its decision at a later stage.
The State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA, arrested Nikola Maric, known as Nidzo, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, HVO, due to a suspicion that he participated in murders, persecutions, torture, forced relocation, unlawful detention and abuse of Bosniaks from the Prozor-Rama area during 1992 and 1993.
Maric is also suspected of having participated in the murders and forced disappearance of 11 persons. The State Prosecution alleges that some of those murders were committed in a cruel way and that victims were old and weak, who were incapable of defending themselves. The bodies of six people have still not been found.
The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that Maric had been unavailable to Bosnian judicial bodies for years and that an international warrant was issued against him. Data available to police bodies suggest that he was hiding on the territory of the Republic of Croatia and that he used to cross the State Border and enter Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally.
