Crimes in Kneževo and in Duboševica (the accused Zdravko Jovanović)
Trial against Zdravko Jovanović for criminal offence of war crime against civilians stated in Article 120, Paragraph 1 of the OKZ RH.
INDICTMENT
The Osijek County State Attorney's Office, on 20 December 2002, issued the indictment No:K-DO-83/2002 against Zdravko Jovanović for criminal offence of war crime against civilians stated in Article 120, Paragraph 1 of the OKZ RH.
Please read the indictment here.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Osijek County Court
Case No: K-82/02
War Crimes Council (judges' panel): judge Dragan Poljak, Council President; judge Ante Kvesić, Council member; lay judges Zdenka Lubina, Stjepan Biber and Josip Božić, Council members
Criminal offence: war crime against civilians stated in Article 120, Paragraph 1 of the OKZ RH
Indictment: issued by the Osijek County State Attorney's Office, No:K-DO-83/2002, dated on 20 December 2002
Accused person/Defendant: Zdravko Jovanović, attending the trial
Defence: Sandra Kralj, lawyer from Osijek
Victims – illegally arrested and interrogated, subjected to physical abuse and suffered mental pain: Ivo Svalina and Tadija Jakšić
VERDICT (SUMMARY)
According to the Osijek County Court verdict dated on 29 April 2003, the accused Zdravko Jovanović was found guilty as charged that he, in his capacity as a member of the so-called Kneževo TO (Territorial Defence) Headquarters, had participated in illegal arrests, illegal detentions, interrogations, and the abuse of local civilian population of Croat ethnicity thus inflicting physical and mental pain upon them without any cause, in Baranja's villages of Kneževo and Duboševica, at the end of 1991 and at the beginning of 1992.
Zdravko Jovanović was found guilty and sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Please see here the Osijek County Court verdict No: K-82/02-84, dated on 29 April 2003.
According to the ruling passed by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia on 27 April 2004, the appeal lodged by the accused person Zdravko Jovanović was dismissed as unfounded and the first-instance court verdict was upheld.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia's verdict No: I Kž 663/03-3 dated on 27 April 2004 may be seen here.