Members of HVO convicted of war crimes against Bosniak civilians in Herzegovinian camps

Marinko Marić and Željko Rodin, former investigators of the Security and Information Service (SIS) of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) "Knez Domagoj" brigade, were convicted in absentia on Thursday at the County Court in Split to prison sentences for war crimes against unlawfully detained civilians in the second half of 1993 in the Gabela, Silos, and Dretelj camps, in the municipality of Čapljina, writes Slobodnadalmacija.hr.

The court panel, presided over by judge Vladimir Živaljić, sentenced Marinko Marić to four and a half years in prison, and Željko Rodin to three years and 10 months in prison. The indictment of the County Prosecutor's Office accused them of a total of 14 separate incidents in which civilians were abused in various ways, of which Marić and Rodin participated in six, Marić alone committed seven, and Rodin committed one. In terms of consequences, the most serious offense they were charged with was the beating of civilian Enver Šabanović, who died from his injuries. They were also charged with humiliating, physically and psychologically abusing, and physically punishing about thirty Bosniak civilians detained in Gabela and Silos.

From July to September 1993, the accused beat them with sticks and kicked them in the genitals, forced them to drink their own urine, lick blood off the floor, stand in the sun at high temperatures dressed in thick winter uniforms, lie naked on hot asphalt, and took their valuables, such as watches, telling them they would no longer need them.

He took their watches

Marić repeatedly, in the period from June to October 1993, hit detainees with a wooden stick, rifle, hands, and feet, as well as those already abused who were brought to Gabela from Stolac in a semi-conscious state, stomped on them, forced them to line up against the wall and sing Ustasha songs, cursed them, threw iron beds on them, tied a belt around their necks making a noose and thus lifted them up and down, poured water into their nostrils, and put a pistol barrel in their mouths.

Rodin confiscated money and watches from detainees at the Gabela camp and threatened to kill them if they did not hand over all their valuables. Also, at the beginning of August 1993, with unknown members of the HVO, he beat five civilians detained in the Dretelj camp, near Čapljina, with iron pipes, rifles, wooden sticks, planks, feet, and hands all over their bodies, writes Slobodnadalmacija.hr.

"This court panel was supposed to establish the general assumption that there was an armed conflict between the HVO and the Army of BiH, which was not an international conflict. That is a notorious fact. And the second is that the accused had to be members of one of the warring parties. It is notorious that civilians were arrested by decisions of military authorities and brought to camps, where they were held in inhumane conditions, starved, without basic hygiene, and in addition, they were brutally tortured and abused, and even extorted.

They particularly took out their frustrations on respected citizens of Stolac, professors, doctors, judges, former officials... Unfortunately, in all wars, those who should be most protected suffer, and that is civilians. Although the penalty for these crimes is from five to 20 years, we felt that this amount was within the framework of judicial practice. Marić even apologized to several witnesses, showed emotion of sadness and said he was sorry, although he did not admit guilt. And the greatness of the people who were victims is shown by the fact that one of them offered his hand to Marić in the courtroom," explained, among other things, judge Živaljić.