A defence attorney for General Mladen Markac, Goran Mikulicic, met in Zagreb on Monday with Croatian Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic to discuss preparations for submitting an appeal against the trial court verdict in the "Gotovina, Cermak and Markac" case before the Hague war crimes tribunal.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, Mikulicic said that it focused on steps to be taken next in the appeals proceedings.
"I have informed the minister of the main guidelines of the appeals proceedings," Mikulicic told press, explaining that those proceedings would contain arguments challenging the allegation of a joint criminal enterprise.
The attorney said the minister had offered all the necessary assistance to the defence teams in the appeals proceedings.
The Hague war crimes tribunal on Friday convicted Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, pending appeal, for involvement in a joint criminal enterprise the aim of which was to remove the Serb population from Croatia's occupied areas during and in the wake of the 1995 Operation Storm.
Gotovina was sentenced to 24 years in prison and Markac to 18 years.
The third defendant in the case, general Ivan Cermak, was acquitted and he returned to Croatia on the same day.
The defence teams for Gotovina and Markac now have 30 days to announce an appeal, citing grounds for it, after which time starts running for the submission of the appeal.
