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| |  | | Mirko Norac | | | context : | Former Yugoslavia  | | judgement place : | Croatia | | status : | Sentenced | | particulars : | Indicted by the ICTY; case referred to the County Court of Zagreb; sentenced to 7 years imprisonment on 30 May 2008 | | position : | Former General in the Croatian Army; Commander of the 9th Guards Motorised Brigade during the military operations in the Medak Pocket |
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| | | | Mirko Norac was born on 19 September 1967 in Otak in the municipality of Sinj, Croatia, where he also went to school. In August 1990, Mirko Norac joined the Ministry of Interior ("MUP"). In September of the same year, he became a member of the Lucko Anti-Terrorist Unit, a section of the Croatian police force in charge of putting down the first incidents which occurred during the Croatian War of Independence. On 12 or 13 September 1991, Mirko Norac was appointed Commander of the 118th Brigade of the Croatian army or the Hrvatska Vojska ("HV"). In November 1992, Mirko Norac was appointed Commander of the 6th Guards Brigade of the HV. In 1993, the 6th Guards Brigade was renamed the 9th Guards Motorised Brigade. He remained Commander of the 9th Guards Motorised Brigade at the time of the Croatian military operation in the Medak Pocket.
The operation in the Medak Pocket took place during the Croatian War of Independence which opposed the new Croatian government against the Serb minority which was backed both politically and militarily by Belgrade. On 19 December 1991, following Croatia’s Declaration of Independence on 25 June 1991, the Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Serbian Krajina, together with Serbs from other regions of Croatia, proclaimed their independence from Croatia and created the Republic of Serbian Krajina (“RSK”).
Between 1992 and 1993, the Croatian forces launched several military operations against the RSK. During these operations, on 9 September 1993, the Croatian forces, including the 9th Brigade, reportedly made an attack on the Medak Pocket. With a surface area of five kilometres wide by six kilometres long, Medak is located within the territory of the RSK, south of the town of Gospic in the Croatian Republic. Prior to the attack it had around 400 Serbian inhabitants. During the operation, the Serbian forces are said to have completely destroyed all of its villages, thereby depriving the Serbian population of their homes and livelihood.
As alleged in the indictment, Mirko Norac, acting individually and/or in concert with Rahim Ademi and Janko Bobetko (see “related cases”), planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of persecutions of Serb civilians of the Medak Pocket on racial, political or religious grounds. Amongst the allegations of persecution can be cited as an illustrative example the unlawful killing and capture of protected persons namely Serb civilians and wounded soldiers, the cruel and inhumane treatment which they were subjected to (notably by means of shooting, stabbing, cutting of fingers, severe beatings, burning with cigarettes, jumping on bodies, tying bodies to a car and dragging them along the road, mutilation and other forms of mistreatment), the terrorising of the Serb-civilian population in the Medak Pocket, and the systematic destruction and plunder of the personal property of this population. During this operation, at least 29 Serb civilians lost their lives. Others were severely wounded and for the most part the buildings in the villages in this zone were destroyed.
On 8 July 2004, Mirko Norac was transferred to the ICTY from a prison in Croatia where he was serving a 12 years sentence handed down by the Croatian County Court of Rijeka for his involvement in the 1991 Gospic massacres. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Croatia | | | date of birth : | | | 19.09.1967 | | | last time seen : | | | Zagreb, Croatia | | | period of charges : | | | 09.09.1993 - 17.09.1993 | | | judgement period : | | | 18.06.2007 - 30.05.2008 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 01.06.2008 |
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