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| |  | | Branimir Glavas | | | context : | Former Yugoslavia  | | judgement place : | Croatia | | status : | On trial | | particulars : | Indicted on 16 April 2007 on war crimes charges; second indictment issued on 9 May 2007; trial started on 15 October 2007; adjourned until the end of September 2008 | | position : | Former General in the Croatian Army, Deputy in Croatian Parliament and Municipal Councillor for the town of Osijek |
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| | | | In July 2005, Krunoslav Fehir made the decision to inform the Zagreb attorney-general about the events which took place on 31 August 1991. After an inquiry lasting more than 9 months, criminal proceedings were opened up on 5 April 2006 with the Croatian Chief Prosecutor against Branimir Glavas. On 25 April 2006, the Prosecutor, Mladen Bajic, sent an official inquiry report to the examining magistrate of the Zagreb district court and to Vladimir Seks (President of the Croatian Parliament) requesting permission to open up a criminal investigation against Glavas.
In May 2006, in order to be able to open up a formal criminal enquiry against Glavas, the Croat attorney-general requested the Croatian Parliament to lift his parliamentary immunity. On 10 May 2006, this request was granted. Branimir Glavas tried to oppose this enquiry with an appeal to the Zagreb Appeals Court. This court rejected his request on 5 July 2006.
An official inquiry against Branimir Glavas was opened on 17 July 2006. The evidence on which the Glavas file is based was gathered by three groups of investigators: that of the Croatian National Police, that of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (which had opened up an enquiry against Glavas before deciding to defer the case to the Croatian judicial authorities in order to lighten its case load and terminate its activities before the end of 2008), and that of the Serbian Public Prosecutor. There are expected to be 45 witnesses for the prosecution in addition to those for the defence.
The State Prosecutor lodged repeated requests aimed at having Glavas arrested during the period of the official investigations. In late October 2006, the investigating judge finally issued an arrest warrant. On 26 October 2006, Glavas turned himself over to justice authorities.
Glavas denies having committed any war crimes, and holds that the criminal investigation is being motivated for purely political considerations, since its starting point coincided with his departure from the HDZ, the Croatian party in power in 2006.
A second investigation against Branimir Glavas concerns the killing of about six Serb civilians, whose bodies were then thrown into the Drava river.
On 2 December 2006, Glavas was released from custody pending trial, because the authorities concluded his 37-day hunger strike seriously endangered his health. The investigative judge ruled that Glavas was unfit to attend legal hearings.
On 8 February 2007, the case against Glavas was reopened.
On 16 April Glavas was indicted on war crimes charges by a Croatian district court. Following the indictment, he was again put in custody.
On 27 April 2007 Glavas went again on hungerstrike. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he only defended his country against Serb assaults.
On 9 May a second indictment on war crimes charges was brought against him on charges of ordering the torture and killing of at least two Serb civilians.
The trial against Glavas and his 6 co-accused before the county court in Osijek began on 15 October 2007. He risks a prison term of between five and twenty years.
On 25 November 2007 Glavas was re-elected to parliament in the Croatian legislative elections
On 14 July 2008, the trial was adjourned until the end of September 2008 due to the bad health conditions of one of Glavas` co-accused Krnjack.
Since there will be over two months since the last hearing, under the law, there will have to be a retrial. | |    | | 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 : | | | 23.09.1956 | | | last time seen : | | | Croatia | | | judgement period : | | | 15.10.2007 | | | charges : | | | Torture
War crimes | | | profile last modified : | | | 04.09.2008 |
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