Monday, July 10, 2006

Mala Krusha War Crimes Trial Begins

The war crimes trial of six Serbian officials accused of committing war crimes in the village of Mala Krusha, where a UN convoy was attacked in late May, is set to begin this week in the Hague.   The prosecution is focusing partly on the events that occurred in the village of Mala Krusha in March 1999, the night after the NATO had begun.  105 men and boys were allegedly taken into a barn, shot and then the bodies burned by the Serbian military.  In addition to the events in Mala Krusha, the accused are facing charges on the deportation of 800,000 Albanians and the forcible transference, murder and persecution of thousands of Albanians.

Among those on trial is Milosevic's successor ex-President Milan Milutinovic,  ex-deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, and ex-army chief of staff Dragoljub Ojdanic..  The trial is expected to take nearly two years as both the prosecution and defense say that it will take at least one year for them to present their cases.