Destruction of the Catholic church in Glina

Trial against Ranko Birač for criminal offence of destruction of cultural and historic monuments stated in Article 130 of the OKZ RH.

INDICTMENT

According to the Sisak County State Attorney’s Office indictment No: KT-56/97 dated on 16 July 2007, Ranko Birač was charged that – after the Glina Municipality Executive Council of the so-called Republika Srpska Krajina had reached the decision on appointing Birač an official bearer of activities on demolition and transporting the rubble remaining after the demolition of the Catholic church of the Saint Ivan Nepomuk in Glina, in which religious ceremonies for Croatian (Catholic) population had been held prior to the occupation of Glina – he had organised a total demolition of the previously damaged walls of the church and had participated with his own truck in transporting the rubble into the old bed of the Glina river, so that the church had been levelled to the ground and the only thing that remained on that spot was a meadow, and thus Birač had committed a criminal offence against humanity and against the international law by destroying cultural and historic monuments in Glina in the period from 02 August 1994 until 31 December 1994, during the armed rebellion and the aggression against the Republic of Croatia.

GENERAL DATA

Zagreb County Court

Case No: K-RZ-1/12

War Crimes Council (judges’ panel): judge Tomislav Juriša, Council President; judge Vladimir Vinja, Council member; judge Petar Šakić, Council member.

Indictment: issued by the Sisak County State Attorney’s Office, No: KT-56/97, dated on 16 July 2007.

Prosecutor: Marijan Zgurić, Sisak County Deputy State Attorney

Criminal offence: destruction of cultural and historic monuments, stated in Article 130, Paragraph 1 of the OKZ RH.

Accused persons/Defendants: Ranko Birač, in absentia

Defence Counsel: Saša Novak, lawyer from Zagreb.

VERDICT

According to the non-conclusive verdict passed by the War Crimes Council of the Zagreb County Court, the accused person was found guilty and sentenced to 2 years in prison.