The defence of the 13 arrested commanders and members of the wartime Bosnian Army, suspected of war crimes, requested their clients to be released, claiming that the prosecution’s argument that they might be influencing witnesses is invalid.

Bosnian authorities arrested former Bosnian Army general Atif Dudakovic and 12 other members of his Fifth Corps on Friday. They stand accused of war crimes, committed between 1994 and 1995, and related to the alleged killing of hundreds of captured Bosnian Serb soldiers from the area of Western Krajina and Bosniak civilians who supported the Autonomous Province of West Bosnia during 1994 – a structure that was run by Bosniaks who rebelled against the Sarajevo government.

Dudakovic’s lawyer, Asim Crnalic, told reporters that the defence was not able to seriously study the accusations because they received the 7,500 pages of evidence only Friday evening, while the Prosecutor’s request for the extension of the custody was sent to them Saturday evening.

The main argument of the prosecution was that the suspects should remain in custody because they could influence the witnesses if they are released.

“There is not one piece of evidence that supports the claim they would influence any of the 400 witnesses,” Crnalic said.

He said the prosecution should have given concrete examples of such influences and not list abstract claims that this could happen, citing previous cases when courts took the human rights of the suspects in consideration.