Mechanism rejects Valentine Ćorić's (HVO) request to lift early release conditions

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT) has rejected the request of Valentine Ćorić, former commander of the Military Police of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), to have the conditions under which he was released from prison early lifted.

He was released last year, after serving slightly more than two-thirds of his 16-year prison sentence for crimes committed in the territory of the so-called Herceg-Bosna.

The statement said that the President of the Mechanism, Carmel Agius, rejected Ćorić's request to lift the conditions of his early release entirely or to clarify them to enable Ćorić to participate as a party and witness in ongoing and future legal proceedings in Croatia, detektor.ba reports.

Ćorić was released from prison on the condition that he would not have any contact, intimidate, or attempt to harm victims and witnesses who testified in the proceedings against him or other convicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

According to the conditions, he will live peacefully in the community to which he has been released, will not be politically active, attend secret meetings that could cause unrest, discuss his case, including with the media, except with his lawyer, possess weapons, or commit any offense.

According to the statement, Ćorić believes that imposing these conditions puts him at a disadvantage compared to other ICTY convicts and affects his ability to exercise his rights, duties, and obligations in domestic proceedings.

"Finally, I note with concern that Ćorić appears to have attempted to pursue legal proceedings against someone who testified as a witness at his trial, regardless of the conditions of his early release," stated Judge Agius, adding that he noted that the proceedings were initiated several years before Ćorić's early release.

Agius's decision further states that Ćorić confirmed that he is adhering to the conditions under which he is on early release.

Agius stated in the announcement that he rejected Ćorić's request to authorize the Mechanism to allocate compensation to his defense counsel for 20 hours of unforeseen work in the post-sentencing phase.

"Ćorić claims that his defense counsel will have to take further steps to provide him with legal support regarding the domestic proceedings and how to comply with this decision," Agius stated.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić, and Berislav Pušić for participating in a joint criminal enterprise aimed at persecuting and ethnically cleansing Bosniaks from the territory of the so-called Herceg-Bosna, which they intended to annex to "Greater Croatia".