Bosnian Croat Ex-Fighters Appeal Prisoner Abuse Convictions

Defence lawyers for Ivan Kraljevic, Mato Jelcic, Stojan Odak, Vice Bebek and Vinko Radisic, who all were found guilty of mistreating Bosniak civilian detainees at a military investigative prison in Ljubuski between April 1993 and March 1994, began an appeal against their convictions at the Bosnian state court on Tuesday.

Under the first-instance verdict in August 2018, the five former Croatian Defence Council military policemen were found guilty of treating Bosniak civilians inhumanely and holding them in inhumane conditions.

Kraljevic and Jelcic were also convicted of failing to prevent physical and mental abuse.

Kraljevic, who was the manager of the prison from September to November 1993, was sentenced to two years in prison and Jelcic, who was the prison manager from November 1993 to January 1994, was given one year and six months.

Former prison guard Odak was sentenced to seven years, while Bebek and Radisic were given one year each.

The defence teams called on the court’s appeals chamber to acquit the five men or order a retrial.

Kraljevic’s lawyer Davor Silic pointed out that nobody from the prison in Ljubuski was killed, severely injured or made to go to the front lines.

Defendant Jelcic argued meanwhile that he improved conditions at the prison, providing warm meals, hot water, clean clothes, blankets and mattresses.

Odak’s lawyer Drazen Zubak said the court wrongly determined that all the prisoners at Ljubuski were civilians, noting that there were witnesses in the trial who had been brought to the prison as Bosnian Army soldiers.

The prosecution also appealed against the acquittal of two others who were originally on trial, Slavko Skender and Dragan Milos.

Prosecutor Remzija Smailagic said the decision to acquit the two men of crimes against humanity was based on incorrectly-established facts.

The appeals chamber will deliver a decision on the appeals at a later stage.