Indictment Filed Against Mate Baotić: Suspected of Rape and Sexual Abuse During the War

The Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes has filed an indictment against Baotić Mate (1967), who is charged with war crimes against victims of Serbian nationality in 1992 and 1993, it was announced from the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

The Prosecutor of the Special Department for War Crimes has filed an indictment against:

Baotić Mate, aka “Čikin“, born on 11.04.1967 in Donja Mahala, Orašje, a citizen of BiH and the Republic of Croatia.

The accused is charged that during the war and armed conflict in BiH, in his capacity as deputy commander of the Military Police of the 106th Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), and later commander of the camp located in the premises of the elementary school in Donja Mahala, during 1992 and 1993, he acted contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Civilian Persons and Prisoners of War during War.

He is charged with personally and directly, alone and with other members of the HVO, on several occasions, committing rape and sexual abuse of women of Serbian nationality from the Orašje area, taking them from their homes or from the camp in the premises of the Elementary School in Donja Mahala where they were illegally detained.

As a result of rape and abuse, one of the victims became pregnant and underwent an abortion while in exile.

 

The accused is also charged with torture, abuse, beatings, and torture in extremely humiliating ways of a larger number of persons of Serbian nationality, illegally detained in Donja Mahala, as well as abuse and torture of a larger number of prisoners of Serbian nationality, who were brought from the area of Bosanski Brod.

The accused is charged with committing the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population and war crimes against prisoners of war.

This suspect resided in Germany and was unavailable to the BiH judiciary, but through the operational work of the acting prosecutor and police agencies, he was located during his stay in BiH, and in August 2015, he was deprived of liberty and is in custody.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office will prove the guilt of the accused in this case by calling approximately 25 witnesses and experts, and by submitting dozens of material evidence.