The Zagreb County Court will start a retrial for war crimes allegedly committed against Serbs in Osijek.
In a decision published on Thursday afternoon on its website, the Supreme Court announced that an appeal by Branimir Glavaš and other defendants has been accepted and that the first-instance verdict against them for war crimes had been annulled in its entirety. The case will go to a retrial, reports Večernji List on July 28, 2016.
The final verdict made by the Supreme Court against Glavaš, sentencing him to eight years in prison, which he was serving at a prison in Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was annulled by the Constitutional Court at the beginning of 2015.
After the decision of the Constitutional Court, the only judgement which remained was the first-instance verdict for war crimes committed in Osijek, in which the Zagreb County Court sentenced Glavaš to ten years in prison. Therefore, after Glavaš returned to Croatia, he was brought to a remand prison, but the decision was subsequently changed and Glavaš was released.
Reacting to today’s decision, Glavaš wrote on his official Facebook profile a post titled “Stigma Has Been Legally Removed”. “The Supreme Court has annulled the verdict against Branimir Glavaš in the so-called “Garage” and “Tape” cases, which sentenced him to eight years in prison”, wrote Glavaš. Asked by reporters whether he expected a fair trial after so many years, he said, “I absolutely expect a fair trial. I am deeply convinced that I will prove my innocence”, said Glavaš. He said he was willing to wait for as many as ten years for that.
Glavaš also sent a message to HDZ. “Thanks to this decision, I announce my active participation in the election campaign, as well as my participation in elections in the fourth parliamentary constituency”, said Glavaš.
The public session of the Supreme Court which discussed the Glavaš case concluded on 7 June. Glavaš and other defendants at the time requested the annulment of the verdict and a retrial, while the prosecution asked for a more severe punishment.
Contrary to the prosecution which throughout the process claimed that Glavaš was at the top of the criminal chain which committed the war crimes, first as an informal and later as a formal commander who set the criteria for selection and stigmatization of victims, Glavaš claims that the case against him has been initiated by former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, high-ranking HDZ official Vladimir Šeks and the rest of HDZ leadership.
