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