Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said on Monday that war veterans themselves do not see why mitigating circumstances, such as participation in the Homeland War, should be taken into consideration for serious crimes such as rape, and that the Supreme Court could also give its opinion.

Opening the conference on the optimisation of local and regional government systems, Malenica commented on a ruling by the High Criminal Court which reduced a rape sentence for former Lasinja municipal head Zeljko Prigorac (HDZ) because “the court of first instance failed to evaluate his participation in the 1991-95ar, for which he received several decorations, as a mitigating factor.”

“I believe that even veterans do not see the sense in using mitigating circumstances for serious crimes such as rape, abuse or harassment. Also, the Supreme Court can adopt certain conclusions at a general session for a specific case,” said Malenica.

He added that the Criminal Code does not recognise either mitigating or aggravating circumstances and that they are decided on by the panel of judges.

“This is a question of judicial authority. The Supreme Court could give its opinion on whether extenuating circumstances can be used in such serious cases.”