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(Source: Siroki Brig)

(Source: Siroki Brig)

Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Ivan Hrkač a/k/a Čikota

Court Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Preliminary Hearing Judge), Bosnia and Herzegovina
Case number KT-RZ 42/06
Decision title Indictment
Decision date 27 December 2007
Parties
  • Ivan Hrkač a/k/a Čikota
  • Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Other names
  • Čikota
Categories War crimes
Keywords illegal detention, Murder, torture, War Crimes against Civilians, war crimes against prisoners of war
Links
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Summary

The accused Ivan Hrkač is suspected of committing war crimes against prisoners of war and war crimes against civilians during the armed conflict between the HVO and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993.

At the present moment, Ivan Hrkač is beyond the reach of the judicial authorities.

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Procedural history

Mora procedural information can be found here.

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Related developments

The indictment was confirmed on 9 January 2008.

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Legally relevant facts

Ivan Hrkač was a member of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) Convicts Battalion Široki Brijeg in 1993 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the armed conflict between the HVO and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in Široki Brijeg and Dobrkovići.

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Core legal questions

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH proposed two main points to the Hearing Judge:

  1. Regarding the prisoners of war, i.e. members of the Army of RBiH, that the accused has violated the rules of international law by inflicting severe bodily and mental harm, and treating them inhumanely.
  2. Regarding the detained civilians, that the accused has violated the rules of international law by killing one detained civilian, inhumanely treating detained civilians, torturing them, forcing them to sexual intercourse, intimidating and terrorizing them, and violating their bodily integrity (p. 4).

According to the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, the accused Ivan Hrkač, personally and together with other HVO members, perpetrated and participated in the perpetration of all of the seven criminal acts entered against him in this indictment (p. 9).

Finally, the Prosecutor’s Office suspected that the accused was in hiding, and proposed to the Hearing Judge that he should be placed under custody pursuant to Article 132(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH (p. 25).

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Specific legal rules and provisions

Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

  • Article 29 (accomplices).
  • Article 173(1)(c) and (e) (war crimes against civilians).
  • Article 175(a) (war crimes against prisoners of war).
  • Article 180(1) (individual criminal responsibility).

Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

  • Article 35(2)(h) (rights and duties [of the Prosecutor]).
  • Article 96(1) (order for expert evaluation).
  • Article 131(1) (ordering pre-trial custody).
  • Article 225(2) (completion of investigation).
  • Article 226(1) (issuance of the indictment).
  • Article 273(2) (exceptions from the imminent presentation of evidence).

Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Third Geneva Convention):

  • Article 3(1)(a) and (c) (conflicts not of an international character).

Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention):

  • Article 3(1)(a) and (c) (conflicts not of an international character).
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Instruments cited

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Additional materials