FLORENCE HARTMANN INDICTED - ICTY TRIES TO SILENCE A WHISTLEBLOWER

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 1,2008) - Florence Hartmann, former spokeswoman for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, was last week indicted by the ICTY, on the charge of contempt of court, for allegedly disclosing classified information relating to the proceedings against Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic.

This information was allegedly published in her book, Peace and Punishment (Paix et chatiment). Hartmann has rejected the charges, arguing that she has not revealed confidential information, but only information she had gathered through her work as a journalist, and that her indictment represents a blow by the Office of the Prosecutor against free speech and transparency. She has pledged to fight the charges.

Hartmann is the first person without roots in the former Yugoslavia, and the first former ICTY official to be indicted by the Tribunal. As she points out, her book was published a year ago, making the delay in the issuing of her indictment peculiar. The charges refer to a case that is no longer actual, and cannot be motivated by any desire to ensure the proper functioning of the proceedings.

The indictment appears, indeed, to be an attempt to muzzle a whistleblower who has revealed information about the internal politics and incompetence within the Tribunal, and a warning to other former Tribunal officials who might be tempted to reveal more such information.

The ICTY is a highly flawed institution with a very patchy record; badly organised, filled with many incompetent apparatchiks alongside some committed professionals, riven with internal factionalism and corrupted by political pressures both external and self-induced, it has failed to deliver justice to the peoples of the former Yugoslavia.

The biggest criticism of it has been its failure to indict most of the principal Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian war-criminals, a failure that, on the basis of my eyewitness experience, is attributed in large part to the poor strategy of del Ponte as Chief Prosecutor.

But a perhaps even more shameful failing on the Tribunal’s part was the one about which Florence writes: the decision of the judges in the Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic case to allow the genocidal Serbia, when submitting to the Tribunal the minutes of the ‘Supreme Defence Council’ of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to censor parts of it in the version that was made public.

As Florence argues, it was thanks to the Tribunal’s collusion with Serbia in the suppression of this crucial piece of evidence, that Bosnia was not able to draw upon the latter in its case against Serbia for genocide at the International Court of Justice, leading to Serbia’s unjustified acquittal.

Far from punishing the perpetrators of genocide in Bosnia, the Tribunal has helped to shield them.To date, only one individual, a lowly deputy corps commander of the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS), has been successfully prosecuted for a genocide-related offence by the ICTY, while not a single official from genocidal Serbia has yet been convicted of any war-crime in Bosnia whatsoever).

The Tribunal may or may not have a legal case against Hartmann. What is certain, however, is that Hartmann was acting in the public interest in revealing the information she did. The people of the former Yugoslavia have a right to know why they have not received much in the way of justice from the ICTY, while the citizens of the world have a right to know why this UN court, funded by their taxes, has produced such poor results. Public interest would best be served if more former Tribunal officials showed as much principle and courage as Florence, and came forward with more insider information so that we can better understand this whole, sorry story. This would help to ensure that other international courts could avoid the ICTY’s mistakes.

Florence Hartmann is a brave, principled and committed individual who has done more than anyone to reveal the extent to which the international community and the international courts have betrayed the cause of justice for Bosnia, and her accusations of Western complicity in Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic’s evasion of arrest for thirteen years have been essentially vindicated.

Earlier this year, former Hague Tribunal insider has added her comments to claims that former leader and creator of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" and one of the masterminds of the genocide against the Bosnian people,Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadžić enjoyed support from Britain,the United States,Russia and France.Hartmann told the Belgrade daily Blic that the UN war crimes court's prosecution on several occasions gave the U.S. exact locations where Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic was hiding. But, Hartmann says, "they did nothing".

"Information about the fugitives' whereabouts was abundant, however, it would always turn out that one of the three countries – the U.S., Britain or France – would block arrests," she said.

Also,according to Hartmann,Great Britain, USA and France purposefully left free former leader of the genocidal paramilitary fascist formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS),Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic who is also wanted for genocide committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

In March 2000, Hartmann says, the ICTY chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte asked Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, whether the U.S. had a secret agreement with Serbian war criminal Karadzic. Clark in turn accused the French president Chirac of cutting a pact with (Serbian war criminals) Karadzic and Mladic to win the release of two French pilots held by the genocidal Serbian fascist formations for three months in 1995.
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GENOCIDAL SERBIA DEVELOPS FASCIST TOURISM

BELGRADE, Serbia (August 20,2008) - Until recently, a small Serbian fascist pub named the Mad House in the New Belgrade suburb of the city was known only to a few people, mainly residents of nearby concrete tower blocks. But that changed after one of its regulars, who happened to be one of the most wanted war criminals in Europe, was arrested last month.

The capture of former leader and creator of the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" and one of the masterminds of the genocide against the Bosnian people, committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia,Serbian fascist Radovan Karadzic – who it is claimed often drank in the pub – has suddenly placed the Mad House in the spotlight.

These days, Serbian fascists flock to the bar, now included on a Belgrade sightseeing tour – called Following Karadzic’s Footsteps – which includes places where Serbian war criminal lived and socialised while he hid from justice under a false identity.

Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic was captured on July 21 in an undisclosed location in a Belgrade suburb. The accused, however, claims he was detained three days before, in a bus taking him to a vacation spot outside the city.

Before he was arrested, Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic spent several years disguised as long-haired, bearded alternative health guru "Dragan Dabic", and moved freely throughout the genocidal Serbia.

It was as Dragan Dabic that Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic allegedly frequented the Mad House.

A regular client of the pub who wished to remain anonymous said that most fascist tourists who come here order Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic’s favourite red wine Medvedja krv – Bear’s Blood – and some even ask to have it served in the glass he used.

“I don’t think there is a particular glass he used. It is a trick used by the pub’s owners to cash in on Karadzic,” he said.

Above the table at which the owners claim Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic regularly sat is a photo of him along with former commander of the genocidal paramilitary fascist formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS) and war crimes fugitive ,Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic. Next to that hangs a picture of the late Yugoslav president Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. The photos have apparently hung in the same place for the last ten years.

Serbian and foreign fascist tourists can also visit a bakery and a pancake house in which Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic reportedly ate; see his home in Block 45, a district of concrete tower blocks; and hop on a bus on the same route as the one on which he was allegedly arrested.

Tanja Bogdanov, director of Belgrade fascist tourist agency Vekol Tours which organises this tour, says the addition to the regular sightseeing trip around Belgrade has been "a great success".

She stresses that the fascist tour has no political connotations whatsoever (???).

“It is important to say that our guides are not allowed to say anything while taking the tourists through Block 45 in New Belgrade. We don’t want to express any political opinions,” she said.

Bogdanov explains that was made at the request of their foreign partners and has been specially arranged to cater for foreign fascists.

“I am a tourist worker, and [the sites are] an attraction,” she explained.

Judging by the droves of Serbian fascists signing up for this tour, it seems that many are fascinated with Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic’s ability to avoid arrest for so long.

However, some in the region find this morbid interest in the war crimes suspect distasteful.

“It is sad that tourist packages celebrating the real great people of this country do not exist, but we have a Belgrade tour dedicated to Radovan Karadzic,” said expert on Serbian culture Milena Sesic Dragicevic.

Dragicevic said that people should set aside their pre-occupation with Karadzic, and instead face up to the atrocities committed by Serbians during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

“On the surface, this may seem like a smart business move, but it actually shows the real depth of a moral and ethical crisis in our society. Everyone now talks about Radovan Karadzic, aka Dragan Dabic, but people in Serbia still do not talk about Srebrenica,” she added.

Prominent Belgrade-based movie director Gorcin Stojanovic agrees.

“A tour named Following Karadzic’s Footsteps should actually be organised in Bosnia, and it should include all places where horrible war crimes were committed, of which Karadzic has been accused,” he said. “That tour would be something.”

Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.
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BOSNIAN PRESIDENT HARIS SILAJDZIC: CAPTURE OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL RADOVAN KARADZIC IS A GREAT DAY FOR BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (July 24,2008) - The arrest of Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic will be marked as a great day for Bosnia, the Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic said in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.President Silajdzic, in his first reaction on Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic’s arrest, said in his statement for the Bosnian state television (BHT) that it has been shown that the justice still can be reached, but he has also warned that Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic is still at large.

The Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic said that it must not be allowed that the project of those two Serbian war criminals still lives in Bosnia, and by this he meant on the consequences of genocide they are responsible for.

"This is at least some satisfaction for the families of the genocide victims.The justice, however, cannot be complete without the arrest of Ratko Mladic," President Silajdzic said.

Although he had been skeptical about the prospects for Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic's arrest, he said that his belief in justice has been restored.

The Bosnian President Haris Silajdzic also said that the arrest of Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadzic will contribute to justice, peace and stability in Bosnia as well as catharsis in the genocidal Serbia.

Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic,have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) since 1995 on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.
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BOSNIAN STATE COURT SHOULD TRY SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL BILJANA PLAVSIC FOR GENOCIDE

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (July 21,2008) - Prisons in Sweden are famous for their "enlightened" attitude towards inmates – hardly surprising given that the country’s human rights standards are the best in the world.

But the convicted Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic, a former political leader of the Serbian living in Bosnia and the first woman sentenced for war crimes at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), might disagree.

Ever since she was transferred from The Hague to the Hinseberg Prison for Women, Sweden's only national prison for females, her letters have been full of complaints, some quite bizarre – air-conditioning too strong, a birthday cake presented to her by wardens not big enough.

In January 2007, Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic asked the Swedish government for an amnesty. Although that request was declined, she did not give up. Just two weeks ago,she had tried again. The tribunal and the Swedish government are yet to respond.

The Plavsic case should serve as a lesson for future plea agreements at the war crimes chamber of the Bosnian State Court. Like the tribunal, this has no mechanisms for punishing those war criminals who admit their guilt and then, after receiving minor sentences, protest their innocence.

Following her plea agreement with Hague prosecutors in 2002, Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic accepted partial responsibility for war crimes committed by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor during the 1992-95 Serbian aggression against Bosnia, including one count of persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds.

She made a formal apology and was subsequently sentenced to only 11 years in prison in 2003. Crucially, prosecutors dropped genocide charges against her.

While Plavsic pleaded guilty and showed repentance at her trial, her subsequent protestations of innocence and requests for amnesty tell a very different story.

In her recently published memoirs, “Hunt: Me and War Criminals”, former Hague chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic claimed to be innocent to tribunal prosecutors after she was sentenced.

Shortly after her conviction, Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic said her repentance for her war crimes was false – a show to deceive the Hague prosecutors and judges, as well as the Bosnian public.

Indeed, in her book, Del Ponte admits that she should never have relied on Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s honesty.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the tribunal can do about that.

A close examination of the chain of events that led to the deal between Hague prosecutors and Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic could be instructive for the Bosnian State Court and help it avoid making the same mistakes.

As part of Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s plea deal, she laid the blame for the genocide committed during the 1992-95 Serbian aggression against Bosnia on the late former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, and on former leaders of the Serbians living in Bosnia,Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic, on the other hand, only “supported and endorsed” the genocidal objective.

In a statement, Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic admitted to the Court that she was repeatedly told about crimes against Bosnian civilians, yet she refused to accept they happened.

“Our leadership, of which I was a necessary part, led an effort which victimised countless innocent people,” she admitted.

Even though the media reported her plea favourably, emphasising the positive role her admission of guilt could play in the reconciliation process, there were some who doubted her honesty. Her apology was certainly too little, too late for the Bosnian genocide victims’ associations.

The sceptics were proven right. Her later claims of innocence and requests for amnesty show the convicted Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic has not come to terms with what she did, nor accepted her punishment.

So where did the Hague prosecutors go wrong?

Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic plea agreement was a clumsy combination of retributive and restorative justice. The retributive part, or the punishment, was reduced by the restorative part – her apology and the potential for reconciliation this could bring.

Theoreticians believe there are three steps necessary for restorative justice to be valid.

The first is for the criminal to understand the consequences of their actions and feel truly guilty; secondly, show a desire to repair the damage done; and, thirdly, accept punishment willingly.

In Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s case, the first condition appeared to be met when she made her apology in the ICTY courtroom. However, this principle was violated when prosecutors agreed to drop the genocide charges against her.

The natural second step would be for her to call for multiculturalism across Bosnia. The genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" emerged partly as a result of Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s participation in the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.


Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic

Therefore, if the convicted Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic wanted to redeem herself, it would be reasonable to expect that while she was in prison she should send messages calling for peace and multiculturalism and warning about the dangers of Serbian fascism – which she has not done.

Finally, she should serve her shamefully low 11-year sentence with dignity and without complaints. This is not happening.

If Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic did not accept responsibility and did not truly repent, why then did she bother to apologise at all? Some analysts see part of the answer in the wording of her apology.

“I came for two reasons: to confront these charges and to spare my people, for it was clear that they would pay the price of any refusal to come,” she said at the time.

Some believe this implied that she wanted to avoid the sanctions the international community was threatening to impose on the genocidal Serbian creature in Bosnia "RS" if it refused to cooperate with the tribunal.

A greater insight into Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic’s psyche can be found in “I Testify”, or "Svedocim", the lengthy volume Plavsic wrote in prison and published in 2005.

The book is full of extreme fascist messages in line with her wartime rhetoric, and its content flies in face of her agreement with Hague prosecutors.

In one of Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic's most infamous statements, published in 1993 by the Belgrade weekly magazine Svet, she said Bosnians were “genetically spoiled material” which justified their destruction.

In I Testify, she speaks about sacrificing herself for the Serbian people, suggesting that she only pleaded guilty to save the Serbian people from the burden of collective guilt.

It is curious that nobody from the ICTY has ever commented on her book – despite the fact that its contents contradict the statement she made following her plea agreement, in which she gave up her right to claim innocence.

Del Ponte’s memoirs reveal more of what happened during negotiations for Plavsic’s plea agreement.

At the time, she said, her office was surprised to hear from the accused’s lawyers that she was willing to plead guilty – but not to the count of genocide. Now it seems clear that Del Ponte accepted this deal too readily.

In her book, Del Ponte writes that although Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic promised to testify against Serbian war criminal Momcilo Krajisnik who is also a former leader of the Serbians living in Bosnia, she changed her mind after she moved from the Hague detention unit to the Swedish prison.

“Dressed in a stiff tweed skirt, like a proper British lady, [Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic] informed me that she was a doctor of biology and proceeded to describe the superiority of the Serbian people. Her nonsense was nauseating, and I brought the meeting to an end. I wanted to seek life imprisonment against her,” said Del Ponte.

Now it seems the former prosecutor should have trusted her first impressions.

While Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic promised verbally to testify against other Serbian war criminals, she refused to put it in writing.

“I had felt that my personal contact with Plavsic, despite her racial-superiority claptrap, had been so cordial that I could trust her,” said Del Ponte, admitting this was an error.

In her book, Del Ponte describes trying to rectify the situation.

“We must advise the Trial Chamber of what Mrs Plavsic is now saying,” Del Ponte told her team, at some point following Plavsic’s volte face. “Let's present a motion to the court to put Biljana Plavsic on trial.”

In the former prosecutor’s memoirs, she recalls sending a motion to the tribunal president – although does not say when this took place. However, he apparently returned it, saying he lacked jurisdiction.

She then sent the same motion to the trial chamber that accepted the plea.

“I still await their response,” she wrote.

As the court’s deadline of 2010 draws closers, Del Ponte continues to wait for an answer.

However, there might be a job here for the Bosnian State Court. While it is not possible to charge someone for the same crimes twice, the fact that the genocide charges against Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic were dropped could open the door for a new indictment against her.

If the judges in The Hague were to find that she violated her plea agreement, there is a real possibility for re-opening her genocide case at the Bosnian State Court.

It seems increasingly unlikely that Serbian war criminals Radovan Karadzic or Ratko Mladic (who are charged with genocide by the ICTY) are ever going to see the inside of an ICTY courtroom.

Since Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic was the highest-ranking politician of the Serbians living in Bosnia to stand trial at The Hague, it would be a right thing for the justice process to try her for all crimes she was suspected of having committed,including the crime of genocide.

It would replace the ICTY’s ill-advised restorative principle with the proper retributive justice Serbian war criminal Biljana Plavsic deserves.
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TRIAL OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL RADE VESELINOVIC STARTS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (July 21,2008) - The Prosecution and Defence have presented their evidence presentation plans at the trial of Rade Veselinovic, announcing that the first witnesses will be examined on August 18.

The trial of Serbian war criminal Rade Veselinovic, who is charged with war crimes against humanity in Hadzici municipality in 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia, has started before the Bosnian State Court of Bosnia by presentation of introductory arguments by the Prosecution and Defence.

The Bosnian State Prosecution considers that Serbian war criminal Rade Veselinovic, as member of the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor's forces, participated in the mass murder, forced resettlement, capture, torture and causing suffering and bodily injuries to the Bosnian civilians in Hadzici.

The crimes charged upon him were committed in Zunovnica, Musici, Binjezevo, Kucice and other villages near the central Bosnian town of Hadzici.

"The Trial Chamber will hear a pained testimony of a witness, whose father has still not been found, after having been taken in an unknown direction. On the basis of this, the Bosnian State Prosecution shall prove that Veselinovic participated in forcible disappearances," Prosecutor Vesna Ilic said, referring to one of the crimes described in the indictment.

The Prosecution intends to ask the Bosnian State Court to accept, as determined facts, the allegations contained in the verdicts against the convicted Serbian war criminals Stanislav Galic and Momcilo Krajisnik, which were announced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Ilic explained that those verdicts indicated that a broad and systematic attack was conducted by the genocidal Serbian fascist aggressor against Bosnian civilians in the Sarajevo area.

The Tribunal sentenced Serbian war criminal Stanislav Galic to lifetime imprisonment,and Serbian war criminal Momcilo Krajisnik was sentenced, by a first instance verdict, to 27 years' imprisonment.
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GENOCIDE SURVIVOR FEJZIJA HADZIC TESTIFIED BEFORE BOSNIAN STATE COURT ABOUT A MASS MURDER COMMITTED BY GENOCIDAL SERBIAN AGGRESSOR IN KALINOVIK

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 3,2008) – The first Prosecution witness has testified before the Bosnian State Court about out the mass murder of Bosnian civilians committed by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in the Bosnian town of Kalinovik and the indictee's responsibility.

Fejzija Hadzic, the first Prosecution witness at the trial of Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo, Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba charged with crimes against Bosnian civilians committed in Kalinovik in 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia, described how he survived the mass murder and the torching of bodies in August 1992.

"I think I will remember that date, August 5, for as long as I live. Askraba came to "Barutni magacin" concentration camp and said: 'You are treated in a nice way in comparison to the others.' Later on, Pero Elez came... Elez ordered them to tie our hands and then they took us in trucks to a stable, where they shot us. When I heard the shooting, I fell to the ground and pretended I was dead. Then they ordered other detainees to drag the bodies into a stable, poured gasoline upon the bodies and set us on fire," Hadzic said, adding that he was wounded in his leg but managed to escape from the stable.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Ratko Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo, Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba with the crimes committed on August 5, 1992, against Bosnian civilians from Jelec village in Foca municipality, Mjehovina, Jelasica, Vihovici and Jezera villages in Kalinovik municipality and villages in the Gacko area between April 1992 to March 1993.

Serbian war criminal Pero Elez was commander of a genocidal Serbian paramilitary unit. He is believed to have been killed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The indictment alleges that Serbian war criminal Djordjislav Askraba handed over the detained Bosnian civilians to Elez's Unit members, who tied them with wire and beat them "with their legs, hands and wooden sticks". After that they transported them by truck to a stable in Ratine place, where they were shot, poured gasoline over the bodies and set them on fire by the genocidal Serbian aggressor.

"In early August, Askraba visited the 'Barutni magacin' concentration camp and took some detainees, allegedly, for exchange. Some of them, who were found later, had been killed and their arms had been tied," the witness stated.

The witness said, on June 25, he was detained by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in Kalinovik. He was among 74 prisoners transferred to "Barutni magacin" concentration camp on "July 6 or 7." In the detention camp he saw Askraba, who introduced himself as "concentration camp commander."

The indictment alleges that Serbian war criminal Djordjislav Askraba was concentration camp commander between July 7 and August 5, 1992.

"I remember being told that Ratko Bundalo was 'a colonel' in early 1992. At that time he used to come to meetings in Mjehovina and other villages. He told us not to worry and said that nothing would happen to us," Hadzic said.

The Prosecution claims that Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo and Nedjo Zeljala participated in the "establishment and organisation" of concentration camps in Kalinovik area where "about 300 Bosnian civilians" were physically and mentally mistreated every day by the genocidal serbian aggressor.

The witness said he did not see Serbian war criminal Nedjo Zeljaja in 'Barutni magacin' concentration camp.

During cross-examination, the Defence teams did not have any questions for the witness regarding the participation of the three Serbian war criminals in the crimes committed in Kalinovik area during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Asked by Trial Chamber Chairman Stanisa Gluhajic if he wanted the indictees to be criminally prosecuted due to their participation in the crimes, the witness said he wanted them to be "tried for what they had done."

The trial of Serbian war criminals Ratko Bundalo, Nedjo Zeljaja and Djordjislav Askraba is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on March 13, when another Prosecution witness will be examined.
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BOSNIAN STATE PROSECUTOR HAS FILED AN INDICTMENT AGAINST SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS KRSTO SAVIC AND MILE MUCIBABIC

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 1,2008) – The Bosnian State Prosecutor has filed yesterday an indictment against Serbian war criminals Krsto Savic and Mile Mucibabic for war crimes committed against Bosnian civilians in the southeastern Bosnian towns of Nevesinje, Kalinovik and Bileca between June and December 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor considers Serbian war criminals Savic and Mucibabic were deliberate participants in a joint criminal enterprise, within a broad and systematic attack by the Serbian aggressor's formations against the Bosnian civilians.

The Prosecution alleges that the indictees "acted deliberately with a common goal" to deport the Bosnian civilians "by committing murder, forcible deportation, detention, torture, demolition of property, starvation and intimidation of people."

Explaining the custody order motion, the Bosnian State Prosecutor Munib Halilovic presented the results of the investigation which indicate that Serbian war criminals Krsto Savic and Mile Mucibabic were members of the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The statements given by injured parties imply that they were detained in the Public Safety Centre premises in Nevesinje, where they were tortured and mistreated. After that, they were transferred to a concentration camp in Bileca, while a group of detained Bosnian civilians was handed over to the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia, which took them to Boracko lake and murdered them, the Bosnian State Prosecutor told the custody order hearing held on October 5 last year.

The Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency arrested Serbian war criminals Krsto Savic and Mile Mucibabic on September 6, last year and they have been in custody ever since.
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BOSNIAN STATE COURT TO ANNOUNCE TOMORROW ITS VERDICT AGAINST SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS MITAR RASEVIC AND SAVO TODOVIC

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 27,2008) – The Bosnian State Court said it will announce its verdict against Serbian war criminals Mitar Rasevic and Savo Todovic at the end of this week.The Trial Chamber said it will announce its verdict tomorrow,on February 28.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor alleges that Serbian war crimials Rasevic and Todovic participated in the establishment and maintenance of the system for murder and mistreatment of at least 700 Bosnian civilians held by the genocidal Serbian aggressor in the Foca concentration camp,during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The indictment claims that Rasevic was commander of guards, while Todovic was deputy concentration camp commander. The two Serbian war criminals are charged on the basis of their command and individual responsibility.

Calling for a verdict of release, the two indictees and their Defence teams said they considered that the Prosecution did not prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

In their closing arguments, Serbian war criminals Rasevic and Todovic denied having participated in the mistreatment and murder of Bosnian civilians and asked the Bosnian State Court to pass down "the only fair verdict, i.e. a verdict of release."

Defence attorney Slavisa Prodanovic stressed that Serbian war criminal Mitar Rasevic treated the Bosnian civilians in a "humane" manner and that in no way could he influence the conditions in the Foca concentration camp. He further said that he did not have the "power" to sanction other Serbian aggressor's soldiers "for whatever they did".

Prodanovic said that the indictment was "defective and imprecise" and repeated several times that it was "arbitrary." He added that the Prosecution had not managed to prove, "beyond reasonable doubt", any count from the indictment or the individual and command responsibility of his client.

"The Prosecution has based this case on one document, by which the Foca concentration camp commander appointed Rasevic as commander of guards. On the basis of this document, the Prosecution determined that he had the power to prevent the guards from doing something. His sole responsibility was to distribute the guards. All other issues were handled by the concentration camp commander," Prodanovic said.

Todovic's Defence attorneys also indicated that Serbian war criminal Milorad Krnojelac, the Foca concentration camp commander who was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to 15 years of imprisonment, was responsible for this concentration camp and that his client's responsibility was "not proved at all."

"The concentration camp commander had the responsibility for all detainees. However, his responsibilities were also limited," the second indictee's additional attorney Jovan Debelica said.

Serbian war criminal Mitar Rasevic said he helped the Bosnian civilians held in the Foca concentration camp "as much as he possibly could" and that he could not prevent anyone from taking them away "even if he told them to kill him first."

"I feel honoured and pleased when I see some of the witnesses whom I helped. To me, the fact that some people who used to be detained in the Facility greet and encourage me today represents the biggest moral satisfaction," he said.

Serbian war criminal Mitar Rasevic also added that he felt sympathy for the families of those Bosnian civilians murdered and the survivors who had been detained in the Foca concentration camp. He also pointed out that it would be unfair to them should the Bosnian State Court pronounce him guilty as, in that case, "the actual perpetrators would remain unpunished."

Serbian war criminal Savo Todovic did not deny that conditions in the Foca concentration camp were "difficult". However, he said that this was a result of "objective circumstances" and was not his fault. He also pointed out that he was glad because "this agony" was finally over.
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BOSNIAN STATE PROSECUTOR COMPLETED PRESENTING EVIDENCE AGAINST THREE SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS CHARGED WITH MASS MURDER OF 23 BOSNIAN CIVILIANS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 26,2008) – The Bosnian State Prosecutor has completed presenting its evidence against three Serbian war criminals charged with the mass murder of 23 Bosnian civilians in Jajce municipality,during the early stages of the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Dr Hamza Zujo was cross-examined by the Bosnian State Prosecutor as the last witness.Zujo said he concluded, on the basis of assessment of the corpses, that 22 out of 23 Bosnian civilians, had injuries caused by firearms.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez, Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez and Milorad Savic with having participated in gathering Bosnian civilians from Ljoljici and Cerkazovici villages on September 10, 1992. After that, they took them to Tisovac, where they murdered them. The indictment alleges that 23 Bosnian civilians were murdered by the genocidal Serbian aggressor and four were wounded on that occasion.

"Asmer Zobic's body was the only one without firearms injuries," Dr Zujo said, explaining that he considered that, in the case of this victim, a bullet passed through the body without damaging any bones.

Asked by Slavica Cvoro, Defence attorney of Serbian war criminal Mirko (Spiro) Pekez, which type of weapons had been used, Zujo said that he did not "want to get involved in the issues of ballistics."

At the end of the presentation of evidence, Prosecutor Mirko Lecic presented the remaining pieces of material evidence, including death certificates for 23 murdered Bosnians issued by the City Cemetery in Visoko.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Mirko (Spiro) Pekez, Mirko (Mile) Pekez and Milorad Savic is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on February 29, when the first indictee's Defence will examine its first witnesses.
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ICTY INVESTIGATOR DEAN MANNING TO TESTIFY BEFORE BOSNIAN STATE COURT AT TRIAL OF 11 SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 22,2008) – At the trial of 11 Serbian war criminals,former members of the genocidal paramilitary forces of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS),charged with genocide before the Bosnian State Court, a discussion was held yesterday on a number of procedural issues, as well as on the witnesses who will appear at the Court and those who have refused to testify.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges the 11 Serbian war criminals with the mass murder of around 1,000 Bosnian civilians in the eastern Bosnian village of Kravica on July 13,1995.

It was announced that International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) investigator Dean Manning, who lives in Australia, might be examined on March 12, at midnight,due to the time difference between Bosnia and Australia.

The Defence teams of the 11 indictees charged with genocide committed in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia,are due to cross-examine Manning, after the Bosnian State Prosecutor has filed a transcript of his testimony at the trial of a convicted Serbian war criminal Vidoje Blagojevic, who was sentenced by the ICTY to 15 years' imprisonment for crimes committed in Srebrenica.

"The Australian legal authorities are willing to help us and facilitate a video-conference within their working hours. The time difference is ten hours, and the only way to make this happen is to begin the examination at midnight," Trial Chamber Chairman Hilmo Vucinic said, adding that he will attempt to establish the video-link at "a more adequate time".

The Defence attorneys did not have any problems with "examining this witness at midnight", as his testimony is "in the interest of the Defence".

Following Manning's examination, investigators Richard Batler and Jean Rere Ruez are due to be cross examined by the end of March.

At this hearing, the Trial Chamber informed the Defence teams that two ICTY convicts who are serving their sentences in Norway - Serbian war criminals Dragan Obrenovic, sentenced to 17 years, and Vidoje Blagojevic – have refused to testify in favour of the 11 Serbian war criminals.

"Obrenovic is not willing to testify as he is concerned for the safety of his family, while Blagojevic claims he does not know Serbian war criminal Milos Stupar and has no connection with him at all," Judge Vucinic explained.

At the request of Serbian war criminal Milos Stupar's Defence, the Trial Chamber admitted the transcripts and recordings of the testimonies of Zoran 'Pirocanac' Petrovic and Nikola Gajic in The Hague, who "were also not willing to testify".

Petrovic is a journalist who was with the genocidal Serbian aggressor during the attack on Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. The Defence attorneys said that Gajic was "an eyewitness of the events".

The Bosnian State Prosecutor proposed that the statements given by Serbian war criminal Ljubomir Borovcanin to investigators prior to being charged be included as material evidence. Serbian war criminal Ljubomir Borovcanin is currently on trial in The Hague for genocide committed by the Serbian aggressor in Srebrenica.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor Ibro Bulic suggested that Alister Graham, the ICTY investigator who examined Serbian war criminal Ljubomir Borovcanin, be called as a witness to talk about the acceptability of those statements. The Defence teams objected, asking for another chance for cross-examination.

The Prosecution also proposed a list of evidence to refute the Defence's allegations, including a proposal for the examination of two witnesses who would speak about the happenings in Srebrenica of July 13, 1995.

In July 1995 the genocidal Serbian aggressor mass murdered up to 10,000 Bosnian civilians from Srebrenica.

The trial of 11 Serbian war criminals charged with genocide is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court on March 12.
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TWO WITNESSES GAVE CONTRADICTORY STATEMENTS AT TRIAL OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL ZELJKO MEJAKIC

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 20,2008) – Two witnesses, invited by the Defence of Serbian war criminals Zeljko Mejakic and Dusko Knezevic, have given contradictory statements yesterday before the Bosnian State Court concerning indictee Mejakic's function in the Omarska concentration camp in 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

Answering the Prosecution's questions during cross-examination, witness Nada Markovski, who was a typist in the Omarska concentration camp in 1992, said that she "supposed" that Serbian war criminal Zeljko Mejakic "was in charge" of the Serbian aggressor's soldiers who guarded the Bosnian civilians in the Omarska concentration camp.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Zeljko Mejakic, Momcilo Gruban, Dusan Fustar and Knezevic with having committed crimes against humanity against the Bosnian civilians held in the Omarska and Keraterm concentration camps in Prijedor municipality in the early stages of the Serbian aggression against Bosnia from April until the end of 1992.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor considers that Serbian war criminal Zeljko Mejakic was the commander of the Omarska concentration camp.

Witness Markovski claims to have arrived at Omarska, "as per an order issued by Simo Drljaca", former member of the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia, in late May 1992.

Markovski added that, from time to time, she heard "crying and screaming" and saw injured people.

Answering the Bosnian State Prosecutor Peter Kidd's questions during the cross-examination, the witness said she "did not know" who was the commander of the Omarska concentration camp.

The Prosecutor presented her with her earlier statements, given at the trials of Serbian war criminal Miroslav Kvocka in February 2001 and Serbian war criminal Milomir Stakic in January 2003, when she said that Serbian war criminal ZeljkoMejakic was the commander of the Omarska concentration camp.

The witness also claims to have seen Serbian war criminal Momcilo Gruban in the Omarska concentration camp from time to time.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague sentenced Miroslav Kvocka to seven years' imprisonment for crimes committed in the Omarska and Keraterm concentration camps, and Serbian war criminal Milomir Stakic was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment.

Witness Radovan Kecan, former policeman from Prijedor, denied that Serbian war criminal Zeljko Mejakic was commander of the Omarska concentration camp, claiming that he was only "a chief of the patrol section".

Kecan thinks that Serbian war criminal Simo Drljaca was commander of the Omarska concentration camp.Serbian war criminal Simo Drljaca was killed in Bosnia during an arrest operation conducted in July 1997.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Zeljko Mejakic, Momcilo Gruban, Dusan Fustar and Knezevic is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court today,on February 20, when one witness will be examined and material evidence presented.
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TRIAL OF THREE SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF 23 BOSNIAN CIVILIANS TO CONTINUE TODAY

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 18,2008) – At the trial of Serbian war criminals Milorad Savic, Mirko (son of Spiro) Pekez and Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez before the Bosnian State Court ,Prosecution witness Fahrija Mutic recognised Serbian war criminal Milorad Savic and said that he participated, together with other Serbian aggressor's soldiers, in the mass murder of a group of Bosnian civilians in the Bosnian village of Tisovac in September 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The witness claims that the two Serbian war criminals named Pekez also participated in the mass murder.The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Milorad Savic, Mirko (Spiro) Pekez and Mirko (Mile) Pekez with murdering of 23 Bosnian civilians from Ljoljici and Cerkazovici villages in Jajce municipality.

The indictment alleges that the three former members of the genocidal paramilitary forces of the Serbians living in Bosnia (VRS) and reserve police forces detained Bosnian civilians from these two villages, took them to Tisovac, and murdered them on September 10, 1992. According to the indictment, four Bosnian civilans survived the mass murder. Prosecution witness Fahrija Mutic was one of them.

The witness said how two Serbian aggressor's soldiers came to the house in which he and a group of other Bosnian civilians were hiding on September 10, 1992.

"Jovo Jandric and Mirko (Mile) Pekez knocked on the door and took us out. They were armed. Jovo told us that we were going to be exchanged and we believed him," the witness said, adding that he saw Serbian war criminal Milorad Savic on the way.

The witness said that the Bosnian civilians were taken by the genocidal Serbian aggressor to a meadow, where they were asked to put away their money and jewelry. He claims to have also seen Serbian war criminal Mirko (Spiro) Pekez on the way to the meadow.

"When we came to the meadow, they ordered us to stand by the abyss and then we heard shooting," the witness said, adding that he survived the shooting because his cousin's body protected him from bullets.

Second Prosecution witness Dragan Nisic said that, in September, Nedjeljko Jandric, a former member of the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia, told him to check the news on the mass murder.

"On our way we met a Bosnian, who told us that Jovo Jandric was among the soldiers who had done the shooting," the witness said.

The Prosecution's indictment alleges that Serbian war criminal Jovo Jandric was an accomplice in the shooting.

"After that we met a man who claimed to have survived the shooting. He also said that Mirko Pekez, Milorad Savic and Zoran Maric were among the group of soldiers who had taken them. We also met a boy who had survived the shooting and this shook me up very much. The boy had a wound made by bullet and his ear was dangling," Nisic said.

The witness added that he "saw a scary scene at the location where the execution had taken place".

"There were bodies of killed civilians lying over each other and there were many spent bullets around them," Nisic recalled.

Witness Dragan Zdrnja also recalled the scene he saw at the location of the mass murder.

"I was very scared as I had never seen so many dead people. They were all civilians. I went back in a van, together with three wounded civilians. I took them to the ambulance," Zdrnja said, adding that he heard later that Serbian war criminal Jovo Jandric was involved in the execution.

The trial of Serbian war criminals Milorad Savic, Mirko (Spiro) Pekez and Mirko (Mile) Pekez is due to continue before the Bosnian State Court today, February 18, 2008.
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BOSNIAN STATE COURT ORDERED CUSTODY FOR SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL MIODRAG NIKICEVIC

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 16,2008) - The Bosnian State Court issued a decision ordering Serbian war criminal Miodrag Nikacevic into one-month custody. Pursuant to the Decision, custody may last until March 14.

In its motion for custody, the Bosnian Prosecutor’s Office submits that there is grounded suspicion that Serbian war criminal Miodrag Nikacevic, in mid April 1992,during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia,raped a Bosnian woman.

Further in its motion, the Bosnian Prosecutor’s Office alleges that in mid June 1992, Serbian war criminal Miodrag Nikicevic raped another Bosnian woman.

Also,n August 2, 1992, as alleged in the Bosnian Prosecutor’s motion, armed and together with two other members of the genocidal paramilitary formations of the Serbians living in Bosnia, Serbian war criminal Miodrag Nikicevic took part in taking away, and later on in the unlawful detention of a Bosnian civilian who was then killed by the genocidal Serbian aggressor at an unknown location.

Having reviewed the evidence submitted, the Bosnian State Court concluded that there was grounded suspicion that Serbian war criminal Miodrag Nikicevic had committed the criminal offence in question.

Further, the Bosnian State Court ordered his custody having found that if released, Serbian war criminal would hinder the criminal proceedings by influencing witnesses, accessories, or accomplices.
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BOSNIAN STATE COURT: TRIAL OF SERBIAN WAR CRIMINAL MIRKO PEKEZ TO BEGIN IN FEBRUARY

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 28,2008) - At the status conference the Bosnian State Court decided to begin the main trial in the case against Serbian war criminals Mirko (Spiro) Pekez, Mirko (Mile) Pekez and Milorad Savic on February 8, instead of January 31, as planned earlier.

The decision was made because Serbian war criminal Mirko (Mile) Pekez has been unable to follow the trial due to "deafness", according to his attorney Dusko Panic.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor charges Serbian war criminals Mirko (Spiro) Pekez, Mirko (Mile) Pekez and Milorad Savic with war crime against Bosnian civilians committed during the 1992-1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia.

The indictment alleges that the three former members of the genocidal paramilitary forces of the Serbians living in Bosnia participated in the capture and mass murder of Bosnian civilians from Ljoljici and Cerkazovici villages in Jajce Municipality" on September 10, 1992.

Zoran Kalaba, recently deceased, was originally Serbian war criminal Mirko (son of Mile) Pekez' Defence attorney. He was replaced by attorney Dusko Panic.

Panic said he has not been able to communicate with his client due to his condition. The only way the two of them can communicate is by exchanging written notes or if the client reads the attorney's lips.

Panic said that his request for a medical examination of his client was rejected. Trial Chamber Chairman said he would personally make sure that this was resolved.

At the status conference the Bosnian State Prosecutor announced that he intends to examine 11 witnesses and a medical court expert and present 63 pieces of material evidence in the upcoming period.

Slavica Cvoro,attorney for Serbian war criminal Mirko (Spiro) Pekez, and Nebojsa Pantic, Defence attorney of Serbian war criminal Milorad Savic, announced that they will examine five witnesses each. Dusko Panic, who represents Serbian war criminal Mirko (Mile) Pekez, was not able to say how many witnesses he will summon.

The eventual extension or termination of custody for the three Serbian war criminals was also discussed at the status conference.

The Bosnian State Prosecutor Mirko Lekic said that there were strong reasons for keeping the indictees in custody. The Defence teams responded by arguing that these reasons were no longer justified, as the indictees have never tried to escape or to influence witnesses. They suggested introducing certain restraining measures instead of custody.