No word from Bosnia on Glavaš escape

There's no word yet from Bosnian police on whether Branimir Glavas, sentenced to 10 years for war crimes by a Zagreb court yesterday, has fled to that country. Bosnian media reported last night that Glavas had allegedly fled to Bosnia-Hercegovina and was in Ljubuska, in Hercegovina. No word from Bosnia on Glavas escape Bosnian Federation TV reported that he had been seen in the center of Tomislavgrad in Hercegovina, as well as in nearby Grabovici. A spokesman for the Federation police stated that they had no knowledge of the case, and that the police could proceed on the basis of a warrant from Croatia, if an international warrant for the war criminal was issued. Sanela Dujkovic of the Bosnian Border Police said that no official confirmation of Glavas’s escape had arrived from the Croatian authorities. The Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has no information either, said SIPA spokeswoman Zeljko Kujundzija, according to Sarajevo media. Sarajevo media believe that Glavas came to Grabovci accompanied by fellow Croatian MP Ivan Drmic, who hails from that village. According to unconfirmed reports, Glavas, whose parents are from Grud in Hercegovina, has dual Croatian and Bosnian citizenship, and is registered at an address in Ljubuska. Earlier, Glavas, via party colleagues, delivered to reporters a video message in which he claimed that he had been wrongly arrested on Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader’s orders on two occasions, and that he would not be “affording him that pleasure a third time.” Following sentencing yesterday, the judge announced that he would be seeking the removal of Glavas’s political immunity, which parliament restored to him in 2008, in order for the police to be able to take him into custody. The judge sent the request to the parliamentary Mandate-Immunity Commission yesterday afternoon, but was told that, because parliament’s working time was over, the request would not be processed until Monday. According to the media, Glavas took advantage of this loophole to make his getaway. Croatian media reported earlier that Glavas was thought to have crossed the border at Ljubuska during the day. Croatian television reported that he had tried to acquire Bosnian citizenship in a bid to prevent his extradition to Croatia, while daily Vecernji List said that he already had a Bosnian passport. According to witnesses, he was seen in Tomislavgrad, and in nearby Grabovici. Branimir Glavas (FoNet, archive) "Garage" and "sellotape" Glavas was found guilty at the Zagreb District Court yesterday on two separate counts of command responsibility for murder, torture and incarceration, receiving a sentence of five years for one and eight for other, which were integrated to give him a single sentence of ten years. In the “garage“ case, Glavas was accused of ordering the murder, torture and execution of a group of Serb civilians, including Cedomir Vuckovic and Djordje Petrovic, who were executed in a garage on the Secretariat’s grounds. In the “sellotape“ case, the other five accused were charged with arresting Serb civilians around Osijek on Glavas’s orders, taking them down to the banks of the Drava, where they were shot and their bodies thrown into the river. All the corpses were found with their hands tied and their mouths covered with sellotape. The Glavas case, which was mired in controversy from the outset, ran for four years, and last year, a new trial began from scratch. The defendant, otherwise an MP in the Croatian parliament, claimed political immunity and was free on bail for the duration of the case. At one point he even went on hunger strike to prevent being taken into custody. The whole case was initiated by journalist Drago Hedl, who also later found a crown witness, former Croatian soldier Krunoslav Fehir, whom Glavas had directly ordered to kill a Serb civilian. Hedl received numerous death threats during the course of the trial, both for his testimony and for a film he shot for B92 about the crimes in Osijek. The film, “Dossier Osijek”, features anonymous testimonies from Serbs who survived torture by forces under Glavas ‘s control.

No word from Bosnia on Glavaš escape

Bosnian Federation TV reported that he had been seen in the center of Tomislavgrad in Hercegovina, as well as in nearby Grabovici.

A spokesman for the Federation police stated that they had no knowledge of the case, and that the police could proceed on the basis of a warrant from Croatia, if an international warrant for the war criminal was issued.

Sanela Dujković of the Bosnian Border Police said that no official confirmation of Glavaš’s escape had arrived from the Croatian authorities.

The Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) has no information either, said SIPA spokeswoman Željko Kujundžija, according to Sarajevo media.

Sarajevo media believe that Glavaš came to Grabovci accompanied by fellow Croatian MP Ivan Drmić, who hails from that village.

According to unconfirmed reports, Glavaš, whose parents are from Grud in Hercegovina, has dual Croatian and Bosnian citizenship, and is registered at an address in Ljubuška.

Earlier, Glavaš, via party colleagues, delivered to reporters a video message in which he claimed that he had been wrongly arrested on Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader’s orders on two occasions, and that he would not be “affording him that pleasure a third time.”

Following sentencing yesterday, the judge announced that he would be seeking the removal of Glavaš’s political immunity, which parliament restored to him in 2008, in order for the police to be able to take him into custody.

The judge sent the request to the parliamentary Mandate-Immunity Commission yesterday afternoon, but was told that, because parliament’s working time was over, the request would not be processed until Monday.

According to the media, Glavaš took advantage of this loophole to make his getaway.

Croatian media reported earlier that Glavaš was thought to have crossed the border at Ljubuška during the day. Croatian television reported that he had tried to acquire Bosnian citizenship in a bid to prevent his extradition to Croatia, while daily Večernji List said that he already had a Bosnian passport. According to witnesses, he was seen in Tomislavgrad, and in nearby Grabovići.

"Garage" and "sellotape"

Glavaš was found guilty at the Zagreb District Court yesterday on two separate counts of command responsibility for murder, torture and incarceration, receiving a sentence of five years for one and eight for other, which were integrated to give him a single sentence of ten years.

In the “garage“ case, Glavaš was accused of ordering the murder, torture and execution of a group of Serb civilians, including Čedomir Vučković and Đorđe Petrović, who were executed in a garage on the Secretariat’s grounds.

In the “sellotape“ case, the other five accused were charged with arresting Serb civilians around Osijek on Glavaš’s orders, taking them down to the banks of the Drava, where they were shot and their bodies thrown into the river. All the corpses were found with their hands tied and their mouths covered with sellotape.

The Glavaš case, which was mired in controversy from the outset, ran for four years, and last year, a new trial began from scratch.

The defendant, otherwise an MP in the Croatian parliament, claimed political immunity and was free on bail for the duration of the case.

At one point he even went on hunger strike to prevent being taken into custody.

The whole case was initiated by journalist Drago Hedl, who also later found a crown witness, former Croatian soldier Krunoslav Fehir, whom Glavaš had directly ordered to kill a Serb civilian.

Hedl received numerous death threats during the course of the trial, both for his testimony and for a film he shot for B92 about the crimes in Osijek.

The film, “Dossier Osijek”, features anonymous testimonies from Serbs who survived torture by forces under Glavaš ‘s control.