Former Croatian official Tomislav Mercep to face trial for war crimes

Tomislav Mercep, a Croatian former assistant interior minister, is to stand trial for war crimes on February 10 at Zagreb County Court, the court announced.

The indictment charges Mercep with responsibility for the killing of 43 civilians and the disappearance of three more in autumn and winter 1991.

Mercep has been charged with personally ordering the unlawful capture, torture and killing of civilians from October 8, 2001 until mid- December of the same year in and around Zagreb and Kutina and Pakrac in central Croatia.

According to the indictment, his police unit illegally captured 52 people, killing 43 of them, while three dissapeared and six survived torture.

After 1991, Mercep was appointed an advisor in the Croatian interior ministry.