GLAVAS: PARLIAMENT LIFTS IMMUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000588 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR DICARLO; EUR/SCE ENGLISH, BELL; S/WCI-HODGKINSON; L/EUR JOHNSON; INR MORIN DEPT PLEASE PASS TO NSC BRAUN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2016 TAGS: PGOV KAWC HR WAR CRIMES SUBJECT: GLAVAS: PARLIAMENT LIFTS IMMUNITY REF: A. ZAGREB 560 ¶B. ZAGREB 233 ¶C. ZAGREB 01 ¶D. 05 ZAGREB 1254 ¶E. 05 ZAGREB 827 Classified By: Political Officer Tom Selinger for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) . ¶1. (U) Parliament voted on May 10 by an overwhelming majority to strip Osijek strongman Branimir Glavas of his immunity from criminal prosecution as a member of parliament. This opens the door for Chief State Prosecutor Mladen Bajic to pursue an indictment against him on charges of war crimes against ethnic Serb civilians in 1991 (reftels). ¶2. (U) After earlier threatening to "tell all" in front of the Parliament and expose Speaker Vladimir Seks as responsible for the crimes in Osijek, Glavas gave a rather ineffective speech in his own defense. Ever defiant, he said he had nothing to do with the crimes and claimed the motives of the investigation against him are purely political, comparing it to persecution under former Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito. At the same time he claimed the chain of command for the murders in Osijek leads to Seks and not to him, but offered nothing to back up this spurious allegation. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Once Glavas is indicted, a process which could take a week, another Parliamentary vote may be necessary to actually arrest him. There is very little chance Glavas would attempt to flee justice, but witnesses against him will breathe easier once he is in custody. Once the case reaches trial, Bajic plans to seek a change of venue from Osijek to Zagreb to help prevent witness intimidation. END COMMENT. FRANK