INDICTMENT ISSUED FOR WAR CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS AND WAR PRISONERS COMMITTED IN VAREŠ AREA IN 1993

Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes has issued an Indictment against the following person:

- Željko Marić, born on 23 July 1968 in Kakanj.

The accused is charged with acting in violation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions relative to the protection of the civilian population and war prisoners, while he was a member of the Military Police of the Vitez Croatian Defence Council (HVO), during the war and armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the area of Vareš.

He is accused to have tortured, mistreated, beaten and deliberately inflicted severe physical and mental pain and suffering on the imprisoned members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the civilians of Bosniak ethnicity, in the building of the HVO Military Police in Vareš and on other locations in Vareš, in October of 1993.  

As a consequence of the aforementioned torture and mistreatment, severe physical injuries were inflicted on the victims.

This accused person is charged with the commission of the criminal offence of War Crimes against Prisoners of War and the criminal offence of War Crimes against Civilian Population.    

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina will prove the allegations in the Indictment by summonsing twenty-five (25) witnesses and by tendering several dozen pieces of evidentiary material.

The Indictment has been forwarded to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for confirmation.