INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST NIKOLA MARIĆ (1958) FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

The Prosecutor's Office of BiH issued an indictment against Nikola Marić charging him with the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity.

The Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes within the Prosecutor's Office of BiH issued an indictment against Nikola Marić aka "Kobra", born on January 28, 1958 in Prozor municipality where he resides, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The suspect Nikola Marić is charged to have, as an HVO member during the period from November 1992 to the end of October 1993, within a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian Bosniak population of Prozor, knowing of such an attack and aware that his actions constitute a part of the attack,  persecuted Bosniak civilian population on political, ethnic and religious grounds, participating in a common plan and contributing to the achievement of a common goal with deprivation of life, forcible transfer of population, enforced disappearance, torture and other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering and serious physical and mental injuries.

The accused Nikola Marić is charged with ordering one member of the HVO to kill a sick old man B.Z., and with personally participating in the murders of B.DŽ., Š.M., S.S., S.O., G.M. and S.M. (an 85 year-old man).

He is charged with having participated in the incarceration and other severe deprivation of liberty of Bosniak population from the villages Skrobućani, Paroš, Gračanica, Varvara, Duge, Lug, Višnjani and Družinovici.

The indictment alleges that the accused Nikola Marić participated in torture, abuse, and other inhumane acts committed against Bosniak civilians who were incarcerated in the premises of the fire station and atomic shelter in Prozor, by beating the civilians all over their bodies using water hose, fists, legs, rocket launcher "Osa" , baseball bat and an electric baton.

As the indictment alleges, the accused Nikola Marić has, at the end of August or in early September 1993 in late afternoon, along with several unidentified members of the HVO, taken out six Bosniak civilians from the camp Secondary School Prozor in which they were unlawfully incarcerated. Those six civilians disappeared without a trace and their bodies were never found.

As further alleged in the indictment in June 1993 the accused Marić, along with several other HVO soldiers, participated in the beating of eight unidentified Serbs, who were brought from the area of Gornji Vakuf, by way of taking them out of the Secondary School Prozor into the coal room, forcing them to face the wall and beating them with fists to the kidneys so strongly that they fainted from the pain. He then ordered one of them to kneel and graze on grass, which the injured party had to do.

The accused is charged with committing the criminal offense of Crimes against Humanity under Article 172, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph h) in conjunction with Subparagraphs a), d), e), f) and i) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in conjunction with Article 180, Paragraph 1 of the same Code.

The indictment was forwarded to the Court of BiH for confirmation.