Bosnian Croats Prisoner Abuse Charges Confirmed
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The court in Sarajevo on Wednesday confirmed the indictment against Tolic, a former member of the 102nd Odzak Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council, charging him with war crimes against Bosnian Serb civilians.
Tolic is accused of participating in the abuse of several dozen Serb prisoners in Odzak and Bosanski Brod between May and October 1992 while he was working as a guard commander in several detention camps and prison facilities.
According to the prosecution, the victims were raped, abused and tortured in exceptionally humiliating ways, which the defendant personally participated in. The torture and abuse resulted in the death of some of the prisoners.
The prosecution requested that Tolic be remanded in custody for longer because he could flee. State prosecutor Mirko Lecic said that the defendant has Croatian citizenship and spends a lot of time in that country.
During the time he was wanted for arrest, we could not determine his place of residence. It is realistic to expect that he could become unavailable, said Lecic.
Tolics defence asked that he be put under house arrest with daily police controls.
His place of residence was never an issue in his personal documents. He went to Croatia to work because there are no jobs in Odzak, said the defence lawyer, Rifat Konjic.
Tolic addressed the court, saying he never had any trouble with the law before and had only left the country to help feed his family.
I did not know about this process, nor have I received a court summons. I did not know that I was wanted; I was in Bosnia, where I live, he said, adding that he would have voluntarily surrendered to the police had he known.
The court will make a ruling on custody at a later date.
