Communicated on 14 April 2014

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 56602/12 Rajko BAJIĆ and others against Croatia lodged on 10 May 2013

STATEMENT OF FACTS

A list of the applicants is set out in the appendix.

The circumstances of the case

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.

1. Background to the case

In 1991 the Homeland war escalated in Croatia. A part of Croatia was occupied by separatist Serbian forces. On a part of the occupied territories the so called “Serbian Independent Region Krajina” (hereinafter “the Krajina”) was formed. During the summer of 1995 Croatian authorities announced a military action “Storm” with aim to regain control of “Krajina”. The action started on 5 August.

2. Killing of the applicants ’ relative

During the military action “Storm”, in August 1995, the applicants ’ father Jovo Baji ć was taken from his house in Gornji Radljevac by persons in uniforms and later on found dead.

COMPLAINTS

The applicants complain under the procedural aspect of Articles 2 and 14 of the Convention about the inefficiency of the criminal law mechanisms as regards the killing of their father and that the national authorities have not investigated possible ethnic motives for his killing as required under Article 14 of the Convention.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Having regard to the procedural protection of the right to life, was the manner in which the criminal law mechanisms have been applied in the present cases by the domestic authorities in breach of Article 2 of the Convention?

2. Have the relevant authorities complied with their procedural obligation under Article 14 of the Convention to investigate whether there was any motive behind killings of the applicants ’ father that might be related to their Serbian origin (see, mutatis mutandis , Å ečić v. Croatia , no. 40116/02, § 66, ECHR 2007 ‑ VI)?

The Government are invited to submit copies of all case files and other documents concerning the killing of the applicants ’ father.

Appendix