Croatian High Criminal Court Upholds War Crimes Conviction of Former General Branimir Glavas

On 12 June 2026 the Croatian High Criminal Court upheld the October 2023 Zagreb County Court verdict that sentenced Osijek defence commander Branimir Glavas to seven years for war crimes against Serb civilians in 1991. The court also confirmed sentences for his co-defendants. It found Glavas ordered arrests, interrogations and executions on the Drava River, where bodies were recovered with hands bound and mouths taped. Ten victims were identified; two remain unknown.

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The 1991 siege of Osijek set the backdrop. An indictment was filed in 2007; the 2009 trial convicted Glavas and others, but the Constitutional Court overturned the verdict in 2015. A 2020 Supreme Court ruling reinstated the trial, and a retrial began in October 2021. The October 2023 county verdict and the June 2026 High Court affirmation concluded the case. Glavas had fled to Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving most of his earlier sentence there.

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Branimir Glavas, commander of Osijek’s defence forces, was the defendant. President Zoran Milanovic reinstated Glavas’s rank and decorations in May 2021 after President Ivo Josipovic stripped them in 2010. The Antifascist League (led by Zoran Pusic), Documenta and the Centre for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights Osijek have called for his honors to be removed. Journalist Drago Hedl of the Feral Tribune first reported the murders.

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NGOs such as the Antifascist League and Documenta urged President Milanovic to strip Glavas’s rank, calling the verdict an affirmation of the rule of law. Milanovic’s 2021 restoration of the rank has been criticised as contrary to justice. Glavas dismissed the High Criminal Court as “completely unnecessary” and said he will appeal to the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and ultimately the European Court of Human Rights. The case marks a rare instance of military accountability in post-war Croatia.

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• “I did my job and finished that story a long time ago. This is merely its judicial epilogue,” — Drago Hedl, journalist, Feral Tribune

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• “In the meantime, he sued everyone who called him a war criminal. This is the essence of evil – a man who exploited and destroyed the people around him,” — Drago Hedl

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• “In a statement to Hina Agency, Glavas said the case only confirmed that the High Criminal Court was completely unnecessary for the Croatian justice system and serves only to “bless the illegal and unconstitutional verdicts of county courts”.” — Branimir Glavas, former general

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• “After that, the Constitutional Court follows, and then Strasbourg, so we have three more steps in this process,” — Branimir Glavas

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Glavas intends to appeal to Croatia’s Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. The case highlights the difficulty of reconciling wartime legacies with legal standards, tests judicial independence and could set a precedent for future prosecutions of military leaders.

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