Vlatko Jarak Pleads Not Guilty

Vlatko Jarak, also known as Doctor, denied having participated in the forcible resettlement and unlawful detention of Bosniaks from the Stolac area during the course of July and August 1993.

Jarak was a member of the Knez Domagoj First Brigade of the HVO.

Among other things, the State Prosecution charges Jarak with having ordered HVO members to tie three Bosniak civilians with barbed wire and take them to Kostana hospital in Stolac, where Bosniaks from that municipality were unlawfully detained.

In addition, Jarak is charged with having participated in the forcible resettlement of Bosniaks to Blagaj in August 1993, by taking civilians from their homes and transferring them to the school center and the TGA factory complex in Stolac.

According to the charges, the detained civilians were deprived of food and water for the whole day and their valuables were taken away from them. After that the men were allegedly separated from the others and taken in an unknown direction, while women and children were transported to Blagaj.

Jarak is defending himself while at liberty. The indictment against him was confirmed in December last year.

Preliminary hearing judge Jasmina Kosovic said today that the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina had filed a motion requesting that the Court refer the case to the Cantonal Court in Mostar, which is competent for crimes committed in that area, for further processing.

“We shall give the Defence three days to respond to the Prosecution’s motion. After that the case file will be forwarded to the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will render a final decision,” Kosovic explained.

As stipulated in the State Strategy for War Crimes Cases, adopted by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 2008, less sensitive war crimes cases may be referred to cantonal or district judicial institutions while highly sensitive cases are processed by the State Court.

D.Dz.