Trial against Ivanka Savić, charged with genocide and, later on, war crime against civilians.

COURSE OF THE PROCEEDINGS

On 20 April 1993, the Osijek District State Attorney's Office laid the indictment no. KT-295/92 in which Ivanka Savić was charged

that after joining occupation forces in Vukovar from the middle of October 1991 until the middle of April 1992, she

· was determining which Croats and other non-Serb population would be expelled or detained (some of them went missing later on) and

· was deciding who would be forced to labour,

· participated in apprehensions,

· was restricting freedom of movement,

· was deciding who would be sent to concentration camps where people were tortured and killed,

· selected alone more than 220 members of Croatian ethnicity, who were slaughtered by Chetniks on the scene of the crime, and

· expelled remained members of Croatian and other non-Serb ethnicity to the Republic of Croatia,

thus, she committed genocide referred to in Article 141, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH.

The mentioned Indictment is available in Croatian here.

The Osijek County Court, as the court at first instance, conducted the main hearing in absence of the defendant. On 29 June 1994, this Court found Ivanka Savić guilty of committing war crime against civilians referred to in Article 120, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH and sentenced her to 8 years in prison.

We do not have at disposal the Osijek County Court's verdict K-52/93-104 of 29 June 1994.

On 13 December 1994, the Supreme Court of the Republic dismissed the defendant's appeal and confirmed the first-instance verdict.

The VSRH's verdict no. I Kž 842/1994-3 of 13 December 1994 is available in Croatian here.

Pursuant to the request made by convicted Ivanka Savić, enforcement of the prison sentence was suspended and reopening of the proceedings was permitted.

Reopened proceedings - general information

Vukovar County Court

Case file no.: K-3/01

Judges' panel: judge Nikola Bešenski, presiding; judge Stjepan Čolaković, member; judges Perica Kešinović, Štefanko Andrić and Marko Radić, members

Indictment: no. KT-295/92 of 20 April 1993 issued by the Osijek District State Attorney's Office, taken over by the Vukovar County State Attorney's Office (no. K-DO-11/01)

Criminal offence: genocide, later on after amendments, war crime against civilians

Defendant: Ivanka Savić, available

Defence Counsel: Ivica Mačvanin, lawyer practicing in Vukovar

The Vukovar County Court conducted reopened proceedings and, on 21 January 2004, rendered the verdict in which the court abrogated the prior judgment rendered by the Osijek County Court on 29 June 1994, but found the defendant guilty as charged that

from October 1991 until April 1992 in Vukovar, in the "Velepromet" company's warehouse she was disclosing the names of Croats and other non-Serb population who participated in defending the town, participated in intimidation and abuse of Croats and took away valuable items from the homes belonging to Croats, and thus committed war crime against civilians referred to in Article 120, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH. She was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison.

The Vukovar County Court's verdict of 21 January 2004 is available in Croatian here.

On 8 September 2004, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia rejected as unfounded the appeals lodged by the State Attorney and by the defendant and confirmed the verdict rendered by the court at first instance.

The VSRH's verdict no. I Kž 429/04-3 of 8 September 2004 is available in Croatian here.