Mladen Markać to be arrested and transferred to The Hague

CVO/MOW/1210e

Mladen Markač to be arrested and transferred to The Hague

Judge Harhoff, Duty Judge, issued an order yesterday terminating the provisional release of the accused Mladen Markač, requesting the Government of Croatia to immediately arrest and transfer him on Sunday 30 December 2007 to be placed in the United Nations Detention Unit in Scheveningen, Netherlands. The Judge requested the arrest due to the accused having violated the conditions of his provisional release by leaving his designated residence without due permission.

On 27 December 2007 the Trial Chamber received information from the Registry that Mladen Markač had left his designated residence in Zagreb to join a hunting trip in Bilogora on 22 December 2007 . The order noted that the competent authorities of the Republic of Croatia had not reported any breach of provisional release conditions to the Registry or the Trial Chamber by 27 December 2007 .

Upon the Registry's request, on 28 December 2007 the Republic of Croatia confirmed that on 22 December 2007 the accused indeed participated in the hunt in Bilogora, photos taken on that occasion were published in the local media and that the accused regretted his action.

The accused was granted provisional release on 2 December 2004 . He returned shortly to The Hague twice in 2007 to attend Status Conferences, and he was again provisionally released.

Mladen Markač was the Commander of the Special Police of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia . The indictment against him alleges that as Commander of the Special Police he had overall authority and responsibility for operation and functioning of the Special Police , following Operation Storm he held the rank of Colonel General. He is indicted for persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts (forcible transfer), plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, murder, inhumane acts and cruel treatment

Mladen Markač is to stand trial with two co-accused, Ante Gotovina and Ivan Čermak. The commencement of the trial has not yet been scheduled. A Status Conference will take place on 18 January 2008 .

The full text of the order can be found on the Tribunal's website at:
http://www.un.org/icty/gotovina90/trialc/order-e/071228.pdf