Another war crimes suspect escapes: Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issues warrant

(Patria) - The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued an order for an international warrant for Ranko Graba, accused of crimes committed in Bosanski Novi after he failed to appear at hearings, Detektor has confirmed.
In addition to issuing the order for the warrant, the Court stated that Graba had previously been ordered into custody at the proposal of the State Prosecutor's Office.

The accused Graba did not appear at the hearing in early May when closing arguments were scheduled, at which presiding judge of the Trial Chamber Lejla Konjić Dragović said that the Judicial Police did not find the accused Graba at his address on May 4, and that his wife told them he had been undergoing treatment in Serbia for the past three weeks.

Konjić Dragović then noted that Graba had violated the restraining measures, and the Prosecutor's Office proposed issuing an international warrant and ordering custody since the accused did not appear at the hearing.

At the hearing held in November last year, medical experts determined that Graba was capable of attending and following the trial. He did not appear at the hearing when Judge Konjić Dragović said he had received a summons on April 8, and that the Judicial Police would bring the accused next time.

Graba is accused in a case in which ten individuals were finally sentenced to a total of 162 years in prison for crimes committed in June 1992 in Alići and Ekići near Bosanski Novi, but the proceedings against him were separated due to his health condition. Earlier, the proceedings were also separated for the same reason regarding Ljuban Babić.