Prosecution Requests Custody for Pincic Too

The Prosecution requested custody for Pincic due to a possibility that he might flee and influence witnesses. Prosecutor Stanko Blagic said that he gave a detailed explanation of reasons for custody in his written motion and expressed his opinion about prohibiting measures.
 
The Defence proposed to the Appellate Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to reject this motion as unfounded.
 
“The indictee was bed-ridden due to a severe acute disease. He can neither flee nor influence witnesses,” said Velimir Maric, Defence attorney of indictee Pincic.
 
Pincic, former member of the Croatian Defence Council, was sentenced, in 2010, to nine years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population committed in the Konjic area.
 
According to the verdict, in the period from November 1992 to March 1993 Pincic came to come to a house in Donje Selo, where Serb civilians were detained, took person A out and forced her to have sex with him several times.
 
In December this year the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a decision to discontinue the execution of sentence against Pincic after the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina had determined that, according to the European Convention, the indictee’s rights had been violated. The Constitutional Court ordered the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to render a new decision through an urgent procedure.
 
Defence attorney Maric said that, due to severe illness Pincic had previously been released to liberty, so he could undergo medical treatment.
 
“The discontinuation of serving of sentence was approved in the indictee’s case. He had already been at liberty, when he received the decision, ordering the discontinuation of his sentence in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s decision,” Maric said.
 
Also, he said that, due to his illness, it was “very risky” for the indictee to appear in court.
 
The Appellate Chamber will render a decision concerning the custody order motion at a later stage.  
 
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina previously rejected custody order motions for nine convicts, who were released from prisons, where they were serving their sentences, on the same grounds. Rejecting the motions, the Court said that the law did not give a possibility to order them into custody at this stage of the proceedings.