JAG CENTRAL

Veselin Sljivancanin, Miroslav Radic, and Mile Mrksic, Facing War Crimes Charges (DoState & UN)

From the NY Times, War Crime Trial Opens for Serbs Linked to Deaths in Croatia in '91:

It became known as one of the most notorious events of the Balkan wars, that day in November 1991 when Serbian forces overran a Croatian town, Vukovar, emptied the hospital and killed almost 300 people.

Among the dead were patients, members of the hospital staff, journalists and Croatian fighters who had taken refuge.

On Tuesday, the war crimes tribunal in The Hague began the trial of the three Serbian Army officers accused of the main responsibility for the events. They are charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including persecution, murder and torture.

Two officers, Veselin Sljivancanin, 52, and Miroslav Radic, 43, pleaded not guilty; the third, Mile Mrksic, 58, did not speak. Prosecutors said the commanders were being held accountable because they had control over both the Serbian troops and the Serbian paramilitaries that organized and carried out the killings.

Also from the Times, following up on yesterday's Washington Post story I told you about here, Air Force Withdrew Rule That Permitted Some Evangelizing.

Categories: War+Crimes, Croatia, Air+Force, Religious+Discrimination, Newspapers