Court overturns War Crimes Conviction against Croat Politician

A Croatian constitutional court overturned the war crimes conviction of a former Croat lawmaker Tuesday on a technicality.

Branimir Glavas, a former general, had been sentenced to eight years in prison in 2010 for the murder of at least 10 Serbs at the  beginning of the 1990s Balkan wars.

"The Supreme Court's conviction has been cancelled and the case will be sent back to that court for a new trial," the constitutional court said on its website.

Glavas was first sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Zagreb court in 2009. The term was later reduced in July 2010 by the Supreme Court.

Glavas was found guilty of ordering the 1991 abduction, torture and murder of at least 10 Serbs in Osijek where he was defence chief at the start of the war in Croatia.

He fled to Bosnia immediately after being sentenced in 2009 as he holds both Bosnian and Croatian passports. He has been serving his sentence in Bosnia.

In his appeal, Glavas argued that the dates of the proclamation of Croatia's independence from the former Yugoslavia were different in the conviction rulings of the regional and  the Supreme Court. 

Croatia's proclamation of independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 sparked a four-year war with Belgrade-backed rebel Serbs who opposed the move. The conflict claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

The proper handling of war crimes cases involving Croatia's own nationals was among key criteria for the country to join the European Union. Croatia became the bloc's 28th member in 2013.