Croatian lawmaker convicted of war crimes
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ZAGREB, Croatia - A Croatian court convicted an opposition lawmaker of war crimes yesterday, but he vowed in a video statement to avoid imprisonment.
Branimir Glavas is Croatia's first senior politician to be held responsible for atrocities committed during the 1991 Serbo-Croat war. As a legislator, however, he has parliamentary immunity.
The Zagrab court sentenced him to 10 years, and asked Parliament to lift his immunity so he could be arrested to serve his time in prison.
During the 1991 war, Glavas was a member of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union and formed a paramilitary unit in eastern Croatian town of Osijek, where he was seen as a warlord.
Judge Zeljko Horvatovic said Glavas ordered the detention, torture, and killing of six Serb civilians, whose bodies were dumped in a river.
