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| CROATIA: Croats to Face War Crimes Retrial |
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2004-08-20 10:08:33 |
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Croatia's highest court has ordered a retrial of eight former military policemen who were acquitted of killing and torturing Serb prisoners.
Judges in Zagreb upheld a prosecution appeal, ruling that the original trial was fraught with serious flaws, BBC reports.
The eight defendants are accused of random arrests and the killing and beating of prisoners in the Lora military prison in 1992.
At the time, Croatia was fighting Croatian Serbs opposed to independence.
The policemen were unanimously acquitted by a lower court in the coastal town of Split two years ago - a ruling which drew fierce criticism from human rights groups.
One of the eight disappeared before the original trial, and two others have since gone into hiding.
The eight were charged with killing two ethnic Serb civilians held at the prison in Split and torturing several others in 1992.
It is not yet clear when the retrial will start.
The defendants were named as: Tomislav Duic, Tonci Brkic, Miljenko Bajic, Josip Bikic, Davor Banic, Emilijo Bungur, Ante Gudic and Andjelko Botic.
Croatia's legal system is under close scrutiny as it strives towards EU membership.
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seeurope.net |
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The Event: SEEF 2004
