Trial against Zoran Lužajić and Stanko Borjanić, charged with war crime against civilians referred to in Article 120, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Požega District Court

Case file no.: K-61/93; K-11/94 (repeated proceedings)

Judges' panel: judge Branimir Miljević, presiding; judge Ljiljana Štirmer, member; lay judges Milan Čubrić, Šimo Poljaković and Ivica Obradović, members

- in the repeated trial: Branimir Miljević, presiding; Ljiljana Štirmer, member; lay judges Branko Bartelović, Josip Čamak and Leopold Brus, members

Indictment: no. KT-81/91 of 2 September 1993 issued by the Požega District State Attorney's Office

Criminal offence: war crime against civilians referred to in Article 120, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH

Defendants: Zoran Lužajić and Stanko Borjanić, unavailable

Defence counsels: Alojzije Fiuri and Mira Matić Primorac

Victim - killed: Antun Čorak

VERDICT (SUMMARY)

According to the Požega District Court's verdict of 7 October 1991, the defendants were found guilty. On 26 August 1991, outlaw military formation member Stanko Borjanić followed the orders issued by SAO Krajina's Okučani Militia commander Zoran Lužajić and shot dead villager from Kosovac Antun Čorak, by firing a shot at his temple, who had come to Okučani to check if his father was still alive and, together with several villagers from Kosovac, had been apprehended by Serb extremists with the purpose of their exchange with confined Chetniks.

The defendants were sentenced to 20 years in prison each.

The Požega District Court's verdict no. K-61/93-9 of 7 October 1993 is available in Croatian here.

On 26 January 1994, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia accepted defendant Lužajić's appeal and quashed the verdict in his case and remanded the case back to the first-instance court for retrial.

The court dismissed Borjanić's appeal and confirmed the first-instance verdict in his case.

The verdict and decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia no. I Kž-974/1993-4 of 26 January 1994 is available in Croatian here.

Požega County Court conducted repeated proceedings. On 28 April 1991, this Court found defendant Zoran Lužajić again and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

The Požega County Court's verdict no. K-11/94-26 of 28 April 1994 is available in Croatian here.

Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, at its session held on 27 February 1997, rejected as unfounded Lužajić's appeal and confirmed the verdict rendered by the court at first instance.

The VSRH verdict no.: I Kž-589/1994-3 of 27 February 1997 is available in Croatian here.