The last Croatian fugitive for war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavian republic has requested a temporary release from The Hague. Ante Gotovina, a former Croatian general, has filed a motion from his release from custody at the U.N. facility in the Netherlands. Prosecutors, however, have produced formerly unknown charges against Gotovina for armed robbery in France and cite evidence that “past history demonstrates a determination to avoid standing trial.”
Gotovina evaded arrest for more than 4 years after being indicted in 2001. He, and fellow servicemen Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, were indicted for operating a joint criminal enterprise to remove the Serbian population from occupied Croatian territories. Gotovina has been charged with killing 150 Serbs and the forced displacement of at least 150,000 others. Croatian forces orchestrated the events to recapture land seized by Serbian rebels in 1995. Many Croatians view Gotovina as a national hero.
France has played an integral part in war crimes prosecutions recently. An appeals court in France ordered the release of two Rwandan men suspected of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, noting the arrests were improperly processed and ordered their immediate release. With cries of “that's enough”, however, French officials have been leading international efforts to moderate the atrocities in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan. France, the former colonial overseer of Lebanon, also vowed its continued support for Security Council resolutions regarding investigations into assassination of former prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
Ante Gotovina was convicted in abstentia by French courts for armed robbery, extortion, and abduction. He faces prison terms of over 3 years if he were to serve his sentences for crimes committed in France.
