International Arrest Warrant Requested for Goran Brekalo

Goran Brekalo has been charged, in his capacity as soldier with the 108th Brigade of the Croatian Army, with having “raped and beaten a woman several times after the establishment of a female section at the Polet military detention camp in Bosanski Brod in June and July 1992.”

Prosecutor Slavko Krulj said he filed his request because it has been impossible to find the defendant at the Zagreb address registered at his place of residence. Krulj said no one else seemed to be living at that address.

“This indicates that the defendant is avoiding receiving court summons,” Krulj said.

Jovan Gostic, Brekalo’s defense attorney, objected to the request. Gostic asked the district court to deliver the summons by sending it to the home of Brekalo’s parents in Slavonski Brod in Croatia.

“By looking at the letter from the Croatian State Attorney Office and the return receipts, one can’t tell whether the defendant moved away from that address or works abroad,” Gostic said.

The judge at the preliminary hearing, Mladen Ruzojcic, said Brekalo was not found at the Zagreb address for three years. He said the court would render a decision on the prosecution’s request at a later stage.