Trial against Radenko Radojčić, Stanko Prica, Slavko Malobabić, Slobodan Rakočević, Dušan Smiljanić, Momo Nikolić and Milorad Đukić, charged with a war crime against civilians referred to in Article 120, paragraph 1 of the OKZRH.

TRIAL AT FIRST INSTANCE

Gospić District Court

Case file No.: K-11/93

Judges' panel: judge Pavao Rukavina, presiding, judge Ivica Kršilović, member, lay judges Stjepan Vukelić, Ivan Prpić and Zvonimir Zdunić, members

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

Defendants: Radenko Radojčić, Stanko Prica, Slavko Malobabić, Slobodan Rakočević, Dušan Smiljanić, Momo Nikolić and Milorad Đukić, unavailable

Defence Counsel: Stjepan Nikšić, lawyer practicing in Gospić

Victims - maltreated: Josip Bogović, Mile Pecić, Mihaela Pavlić, Amalija Budimir, Mile Lukač, Ivan Magdić, Mile Knežević, Dražen Rendulić, Marko Knežević and Nikola Nikolić

According to the Gospić District Court’s Verdict No. K-11/93-28 of 12 January 1994, the defendants were found guilty in their absence as charged that in their capacity as members of JNA (1^st-5^th defendants) or the so-called SAO Krajina Militia (6^th and 7^th defendant), following the arrest in Prijeboj on 13 October 1991 of two Catholic priests, two nuns and six undertakers and PS Slunj workers, who came to collect corpses of civilians killed in Vaganac and Drežnik Grad in order to carry out their burial, after their bringing in to the premises of “SAO Krajina Militia” where they were beaten and humiliated by the employees, the defendants allowed the gathered local population to beat the victims; more specific, the defendants allowed on 14 October 1991 that one priest and the nuns go to Slunj while they continued beating and maltreating other victims until the mid of December 1991; at the mid of December they transferred one priest to Belgrade where he was put in solitary confinement with no heating, right to move or sleep and was interrogated there under severe conditions for a long period; on 23 January 1992, he was taken out of prison and left in one village near Brčko; after six months the other victims were transferred from Titova Korenica to Knin and they were later included in prisoner exchange.

Defendants Radojčić, Prica, Malobabić, Rakočević, Smiljanić and Đukić were sentenced to 5 years in prison each and defendant Nikolić was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The Gospić District Court’s Verdict No. K-11/93-28 of 12 January 1994 can be read in Croatian here.

THE VSRH VERDICT

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, in its verdict No. I Kž-454/1994-3 of 13 April 1995 modified the part determining the sentence of the first-instance verdict and according to this modification defendants Radojčić, Prica, Malobabić, Rakočević, Smiljanić and Đukić were sentenced to 6 years in prison each and defendant Nikolić was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Verdict can be read in Croatian here.

Note:

From the date when the indictment was issued until the main hearing, the District State Attorney dropped charges against Slobodan Platiša. On the basis of the decision issued by the Gospić District Court No. K-11/93-6 of 16 November 1993 criminal proceedings against him was discontinued. Later on, Slobodan Platiša was heard as witness during the trial.