Longer Sentence against Banovic and Granic Requested

In November 2013 the Mostar Cantonal Court sentenced Mijo Banovic to a year and ten months and Gojko Granic to a year-and-a-half in prison for having committed crimes against Bosniak civilians in Dretelj in 1993.

Prosecutor Munib Halilovic said that he stuck to an appeal filed by the Mostar Cantonal Prosecution, in which the Court was requested to revise the verdict and pronounce longer sentences against Banovic and Granic.

“I stick to the allegations contained in our appeal and propose to the Court to reject the Defence’s appeals as unfounded,” Halilovic said.

Davor Simic, Defence attorney of Mijo Banovic, requested the Supreme Court to either acquit Banovic of the charges or quash the Mostar Cantonal Court’s verdict and order a retrial before that same Court.

“My client could not have been present in Dretelj prior to July 15, 1993,” said Simic.

Tomislav Zelic, Defence attorney of indictee Granic, pointed out that his client was a corporal or a chieftain with military police, and not a military policeman as indicated in the first instance verdict.

“He did not execute other people’s order, but he issued orders to his subordinates. He was superior to 30 people, whom he could have ordered to commit violence, had he wanted to do it, instead of directly participating in it,” Zelic said.

The Mostar Cantonal Court’s verdict alleges that Banovic and Granic were military policemen with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO.

Under the first instance verdict, Banovic was pronounced guilty of having beaten several civilians with a rifle butt, wooden baton, chain, fists and legs, causing injuries all over their bodies, and having mistreated them in other ways. Granic, on the other hand, was sentenced for having beaten three civilians.

Indictee Banovic did not attend the Supreme Court’s session at which the appeals were presented, while Granic said that he was a member of the military police and in Dretelj.

“Five or six men named Gojko were present at that place. It is not mentioned anywhere that I offered help, established a dispensary and that I was one of the best men, I think that you have charged the wrong person,” Granic said.

The Supreme Court will render a decision at a later stage.