INTERNATIONALS SEE GLAVAS AS JUDICIAL TEST CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 001352

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO; EUR/SCE HOH, BALIAN;
S/WCI WILLIAMSON, LAVINE; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV KAWC HR WAR CRIMES
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONALS SEE GLAVAS AS JUDICIAL TEST CASE

REF: ZAGREB 1285 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
.


1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Observers in the international
community are calling the war crimes investigation against MP
Branimir Glavas (reftels) a test case of the maturity of the
Croatian judiciary that will serve as an indicator of
readiness for Euro-Atlantic integration. Glavas, now the
subject of three separate investigations into the torture and
murder of Serb civilians in Osijek in 1991-92, voluntarily
entered detention in Zagreb on October 26 but immediately
went on a hunger strike to protest what he says are
politically rigged proceedings against him. Many of the
initial court decisions regarding detention and jurisdiction
have received both political and media criticism. However,
the Croatian judiciary appears to be wrestling with
legitimate legal questions and witness protection issues
arising from the first prosecution of a sitting
parliamentarian in a young democracy. Glavas is clearly
trying to exploit any weaknesses that remain in the
judiciary, using his hunger strike to portray himself as a
victim in an attempt to generate public sympathy and pressure
the court. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

ALL THE ELEMENTS TO DEMONSTRATE JUDICIAL MATURITY
-------------- --------------


2. (C) According to Thomas Osorio, Zagreb head of mission for
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY),both his organization and many EU-member embassies
are looking at the Glavas investigation for signs that
Croatia has made progress in judicial reform. From the ITCY
perspective, Osorio told PolOff October 31, the case has "all
the elements needed for the Croatian judiciary to demonstrate
its readiness to conduct cases transferred from The Hague:
witness protection, impartiality of the court, and integrity
of the judicial process."


3. (C) Based on his conversations with European diplomats, he
predicted the Glavas case will loom large in EU assessments
in the justice and home affairs sector. A European
Commission progress report on Croatia approved November 8
cited the Glavas case as an example of increased willingness
to prosecute Croats for war crimes but pointed to witness
protection challenges.

POLICE CHIEF: TENSION IN OSIJEK
--------------


4. (C) Osijek Chief of Police Vladimir Faber told PolOff
October 26 that the evidence he has seen against Glavas
should put him behind bars for 20 years, the maximum sentence
under Croatian law at the time of the crimes. He had no
doubt, however, that Glavas and his supporters will make it
as difficult as possible for the court to convict him,
particularly the Osijek Court where Glavas can exert the most
public pressure. According to Faber, they have already
placed posters around Osijek accusing (in verse) the Chief of
Police of being a communist. Many of Faber's friends in town
now hesitate to speak to him on the street for fear of being
accused of providing information to investigators.


5. (C) Based on the brutality of the network Glavas is
accused of running during the war, Faber understands why
residents might be afraid. He described the now famous
"Cello-tape" operation, the second investigation involving
Glavas, as something from a Hollywood movie. Glavas sent
sealed orders via his secretary to covert units, each unknown
to the other -- one unit to apprehend an individual and the
second to carry out the execution. Reluctant triggermen were
threatened with execution themselves if they failed to carry
out their duties. When the secretary told her boss she
wanted out, Glavas reportedly beat and raped her.

JURSIDICTION BECOMES STICKY ISSUE
--------------


6. (C) Miroslav Rozac, Deputy President and spokesperson of
the Osijek County Court, told PolOff November 3 that the
Glavas case has raised complicated jurisdictional issues that
may eventually require a Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme
Court already moved the initial investigation against Glavas,
now known as the "Garage" case, from Osijek to the Zagreb
County Court to avoid witness intimidation. But when the
Zagreb court was slow to grant Chief State Prosecutor Mladen
Bajic's request for Glavas' detention, Bajic treated the
"cello-tape" operation as a completely separate crime and

ZAGREB 00001352 002 OF 002


decided to try his luck in Osijek.


7. (C) While an investigative judge there ordered detention
for six others accused in "Cello-tape," he ruled that Osijek
had no jurisdiction over Glavas -- the case must go to
Zagreb. According to Rozac, the judge based his decision on
a provision in the law on criminal procedure that all like
crimes committed by an individual should be tried in one
case. An initial appeal by the prosecutor was accepted by
the Osijek County Court, so the investigative judge will
reconsider, but Osijek may well request that Zagreb join
"Cello-tape" with "Garage." If Zagreb refuses, the Supreme
Court will decide. This will likely also determine the venue
for a third case, known as "Red Barracks," which is still in
the early stages of investigation.
BRADTKE