The news about the request to expand the investigation was confirmed by Osijek County Court spokesman Miroslav Rozac on Wednesday.

More than two weeks ago, the Osijek County Court forwarded to the Office of the Osijek County Prosecutor a file on the investigation that was carried out into Vasiljevic and Zivanovic on suspicion of war crimes against prisoners of war and civilians detained at Stajicevo and Begejci and in other prisoner of war camps in Serbia.

The court said at the time that it sent the case file to the Office of the County Prosecutor after the state of affairs in the case was sufficiently clarified in the investigation.

Officials at the Office of the Osijek County Prosecutor said today that the request to expand the investigation was related to reports by some 30 Croatian war veterans who said that the people who tortured them in Serb-run camps had extorted statements, and that Vasiljevic and Zivanovic were responsible for that according to command responsibility.

After it examines the case file from the County Court and after additional inquiries are made, the Office of the County Prosecutor will decide on whether to issue an indictment, County Prosecutor Davor Petricevic said.

Following the case of war veteran Tihomir Purda of Vukovar, who was arrested on the Croatian-Bosnian border on January 5 on a warrant issued by Serbian authorities, which want him on war crimes charges, many former inmates of Serb-run detention camps from Vukovar and Osijek pressed charges against the people who tortured them in captivity.

Purda has been in extradition custody in Zenica since his arrest.