Bosnian Croat general surrenders to war crimes tribunal
April 1, 1996
Web posted at: 10:10 p.m. EST (0310 GMT)THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CNN) -- A Bosnian Croat general surrendered to United Nations prosecutors Monday to stand trial on war crimes charges.
Gen. Tihomir Blaskic, who flew from Zagreb to Amsterdam to surrender, was indicted last November, accused of ordering massacres at Bosnian villages in 1992-93. He is scheduled to appear before the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague on Wednesday, where he will enter a plea.
Blaskic's attorney, Zvonimir Hodak, said that the general was a "professional soldier" who ordered "his troops to behave according to all the principles of humanity." He added, "I absolutely think that he can be acquitted."
Blaskic was one of six Bosnian Croats charged with atrocities in the Lasva Valley area of central Bosnia. The alleged massacres included the deaths of 120 Muslim residents of the village of Ahmici in April 1993. Children, apparently burned alive, perished in that massacre.
Also Monday, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic pardoned a Bosnian Croat officer sentenced to death for his participation in the deaths of 83 Serbs. Ivan Stjepanovic has not been indicted by the U.N. tribunal, but is expected to be handed over to international investigators for possible prosecution.
War crimes investigations continued in Bosnia-Herzegovina Monday, with the arrival of U.N. investigators in Tuzla. The investigators will travel to Srebenica Tuesday to inspect 11 suspected mass grave sites near the former U.N. safe haven. Over 5,000 men are still unaccounted for since Serb troops overran Srebrenica in July 1995.
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