here - Humanitarian Law Center/Fond za humanitarno pravo

such a practice runs contrary to the standards enshrined in the ECHR, which have been
incorporated in the CPC, namely the right to a trial within reasonable time. 163
The HLC is not able to provide a thorough analysis of the judgment, because it does not have the
written version of the judgment. The length of sentences clearly reflects the role of each indictee
in the commission of the crime. However, the sentence imposed on Seregi, which barely exceeds
the statutory minimum for such offences, and the sentence for Tešić, which is closer to the
statutory minimum, do not fulfill the purpose of punishment nor do they secure justice for the
victims.
3. Cases that resulted in second-instance decisions during 2012
3.1.Rastovac 164
On 5 March 2012, the Court of Appeal in Belgrade confirmed 165 the judgment of the Higher
Court in Belgrade from 23 September 2011, sentencing Veljko Marić to 12 years in prison for a
war crime against the civilian population. 166
Course of proceedings
On 12 August 2011, the TRZ 167 indicted Veljko Marić 168 for a war crime against the civilian
population. The indictment alleges that the accused, as a member of the Croatian armed forces,
specifically, the 77th Independent Battalion of Grubišno Polje, during the “cleansing” of the
village of Rastovac (Grubišno Polje municipality, Republic of Croatia), uniformed and armed,
entered the home of the Serb Slijepčević family, and killed Petar Slijepčević, in the presence of
his wife, Ana Slijepčević, with several shots from his automatic weapon.
163 ECHR Art. 6 (1): “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him,
everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal
established by law.”
164 K Po2 47/2010.
165 Trial chamber members: judge Radmila Dragičević-Dičić (presiding), judge Siniša Važić, judge Sretko Janković,
judge Omer Hadžiomerović and judge Miodrag Majić. Case No: Kž1 Po2 10/11.
166 On that occasion, the HLC issued a press release (on 29 September 2011) entitled “Croatian citizen Veljko Marić
should have been tried in Croatia”, www.hlc-rdc.org
167 Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor, Dušan Knežević.
168 Indictee Veljko Marić is a citizen of the Republic of Croatia.
72