Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Page 1

1 Thursday, 18 June 1998

2 --- Upon commencing at 9.35 a.m.

3 (Open session)

4 JUDGE CASSESE: Good morning. Registrar,

5 could you please call out the case number?

6 THE REGISTRAR: Good morning, Your Honours,

7 case number IT-97-25-I, the Prosecutor versus Milorad

8 Krnojelac.

9 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. We may now

10 commence with this hearing. As you know, this is the

11 initial appearance of the accused before the

12 International Criminal Tribunal for the former

13 Yugoslavia, and it is being held in accordance with the

14 Tribunal's Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence

15 formally to charge the accused.

16 Mr. Milorad Krnojelac, could you please rise

17 and state for the Trial Chamber your name, date and

18 place of birth, and the name of the attorney whom you

19 have chosen to represent you.

20 THE ACCUSED: Milorad Krnojelac, born on the

21 25th of July, 1940 in the village of Birotici near

22 Foca. I will be represented by Mihajlo Bakrac, an

23 attorney. And today I'm represented by Mr. Toma Fila.

24 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. You may be

25 seated. Could I please have the appearances for the

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1 Prosecution?

2 MR. BOWERS: Yes, Your Honour, Terree

3 Bowers.

4 MS. THAPA: Tejshree Thapa.

5 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Mr. Fila?

6 MR. FILA: Your Honours, I'm Toma Fila. I

7 will be representing Milorad Krnojelac today in this

8 hearing.

9 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. As you know, the

10 purpose of this initial appearance, and I just said

11 this, is formally to charge the accused. The Trial

12 Chamber is required to ensure that the indictment is

13 read to the accused in a language he speaks or

14 understands. If he waives his right to a public

15 reading of the indictment, the Trial Chamber must, in

16 any case, satisfy itself that he understands the

17 indictment.

18 We are then required to call upon the accused

19 to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty on each count.

20 If the accused fails to enter a plea, we are required

21 by our Rules of Procedure and Evidence to enter a plea

22 of not guilty on his behalf. In the case of a not

23 guilty plea, we will instruct the registrar to set a

24 date for trial. In the case of a guilty plea on all

25 counts, we will instruct the registrar to set a date

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1 for the presentencing hearing or any other appropriate

2 date.

3 I would like to ask Defence counsel,

4 Mr. Fila, whether he and his client have received

5 copies of the indictment in a language that they

6 understand and whether the contents therein were

7 understood.

8 MR. FILA: Your Honour, the accused has

9 received not only the indictment but all the supporting

10 material that he is supposed to have, that is, the

11 statute and the rules of this Tribunal. I had a

12 conversation with him today. He understood the

13 indictment in its entirety. He waives his right to the

14 reading, and he will just enter a plea of not guilty or

15 guilty, and he understands in full the charges levied

16 against him. Thank you.

17 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. Mr. Fila, I

18 understand that you had adequate time to confer with

19 your client in preparation for this initial

20 appearance?

21 MR. FILA: Yes.

22 JUDGE CASSESE: Now, since, as you said, the

23 accused, after consulting with you, is waiving his

24 right to the public reading of the indictment, I will

25 now recall each of the 18 counts against the accused.

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1 Mr. Krnojelac, could you please tell the court whether

2 you plead guilty or not guilty after I have put the

3 counts to you.

4 The formal words we wish you to use is either

5 "I plead guilty" or "I plead not guilty." Have you

6 understood this?

7 THE ACCUSED: I understand.

8 JUDGE CASSESE: I will start now with the

9 various counts.

10 Count 1: A crime against humanity,

11 persecution on political, racial and/or religious

12 grounds, punishable under Article 5(h) of the Statute

13 of the International Tribunal.

14 How do you plead?

15 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

16 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

17 Count 2: A crime against humanity, torture,

18 punishable under Article 5(f) of the Statute of the

19 International Tribunal.

20 How do you plead?

21 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

22 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

23 Count 3: A grave breach, torture, punishable

24 under Article 2(b) of the Statute of the International

25 Tribunal.

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1 How do you plead?

2 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

3 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

4 Count 4: A violation of the laws or customs

5 of war, torture, punishable under Article 3 of the

6 Statute of the International Tribunal and recognised by

7 Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

8 How do you plead?

9 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

10 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

11 Count 5: A crime against humanity, inhumane

12 acts, punishable under Article 5(1) of the Statute of

13 the International Tribunal.

14 How do you plead?

15 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

16 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

17 Count 6: A grave breach, wilfully causing

18 serious injury to body or health, punishable under

19 Article 2(c) of the Statute of the International

20 Tribunal.

21 How do you plead?

22 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

23 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

24 Count 7: A violation of the laws or customs

25 of war, namely, cruel treatment, punishable under

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1 Article 3 of the Statute of the International Tribunal

2 and recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva

3 Conventions of 1949.

4 How do you plead?

5 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

6 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

7 Count 8: A crime against humanity, namely,

8 murder, punishable under Article 5(a) of the Statute of

9 the International Tribunal.

10 How do you plead?

11 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

12 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

13 Count 9: A grave breach, wilful killing,

14 punishable under Article 2(a) of the Statute of the

15 International Tribunal.

16 How do you plead?

17 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

18 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

19 Count 10: A violation of the laws or customs

20 of war in the form of murder, punishable under Article

21 3 of the Statute of the International Tribunal and

22 recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva

23 Conventions.

24 How do you plead?

25 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

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1 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

2 Count 11: A crime against humanity,

3 imprisonment, punishable under Article 5(e) of the

4 Statute of the International Tribunal.

5 How do you plead?

6 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

7 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

8 Count 12: A grave breach in the form of

9 unlawful confinement of a civilian, punishable under

10 Article 2(g) of the Statute of the International

11 Tribunal.

12 How do you plead?

13 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

14 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

15 Count 13: A crime against humanity in the

16 form of inhumane acts, punishable under Article 5(i) of

17 the Statute of the International Tribunal.

18 How do you plead?

19 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

20 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

21 Count 14: A grave breach in the form of

22 wilfully causing great suffering, punishable under

23 Article 2(c) of the Statute of the International

24 Tribunal.

25 How do you plead?

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1 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

2 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

3 Count 15: A violation of the laws or customs

4 of war, namely, cruel treatment, punishable under

5 Article 3 of the Statute of the International Tribunal

6 and recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva

7 Conventions of 1949.

8 How do you plead?

9 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

10 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

11 Count 16: A crime against humanity, namely,

12 enslavement, punishable under Article 5(c) of the

13 Statute of the International Tribunal.

14 How do you plead?

15 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

16 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

17 Count 17: A grave breach in the form of

18 inhumane treatment, punishable under Article 2(b) of

19 the Statute of the International Tribunal.

20 How do you plead?

21 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

22 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you.

23 Count 18: A violation of the laws or customs

24 of war, namely, slavery, punishable under Article 3 of

25 the Statute of the International Tribunal and

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1 recognised under the Slavery Convention and

2 International Customary Law.

3 How do you plead?

4 THE ACCUSED: I plead not guilty.

5 JUDGE CASSESE: Thank you. You may now be

6 seated. After the conclusion of this hearing, you will

7 be remanded to the further custody of the International

8 Tribunal and held in the detention unit until further

9 order is made.

10 Could I ask the registrar to please note the

11 pleas of the accused?

12 As the accused has pleaded not guilty to the

13 charges against him, it is necessary to consider the

14 organisation of the work of the Trial Chamber and the

15 setting of the date for the trial. I wonder whether

16 the registrar is able to set a date for the trial now?

17 THE REGISTRAR: Yes, we are.

18 JUDGE CASSESE: Can you indicate a date?

19 THE REGISTRAR: Maybe after 60 days of

20 preliminary motions, and then we can set a date.

21 JUDGE CASSESE: So, therefore, we will await

22 your confirmation.

23 Now, of course, I don't need to remind both

24 the Prosecution and the Defence of their obligations.

25 In particular, the Prosecution, as we all know, has the

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1 duty to make available to the Defence all copies of the

2 supporting material, in addition to what has already

3 been handed, of course, to the accused; namely, you

4 said the Statute and the Rules of Procedure. But what

5 is needed for the Defence to receive from the

6 Prosecution is the supporting material, namely, the

7 material which accompanied the indictment when

8 confirmation was sought and all the prior statements

9 obtained by the Office of the Prosecutor from the

10 accused.

11 Of course, we all know, and I'm sure that

12 Mr. Fila and the Prosecution are fully aware, that no

13 later than 60 days before the date set for trial,

14 copies of the statements of all witnesses whom the

15 Prosecutor intends to call to testify must be made

16 available to the Defence. I will not go into details

17 on this matter because we are all familiar with these

18 rules.

19 May I ask now the Prosecution whether any

20 such documents have already been provided to the

21 Defence? If not, if the Prosecution may indicate a

22 date by when those documents will be provided to the

23 Defence, the supporting material for the indictment?

24 MR. BOWERS: Yes, Your Honour. The

25 confirmation material consists of approximately 47

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1 witness statements. They have been redacted with

2 regard to the other defendants/accused in this case,

3 and they are ready to present to counsel.

4 We would just request the court to issue the

5 protective order with regard to those statements before

6 we actually physically transfer them to the Defence.

7 But they are prepared and can be turned over as soon as

8 the protective order is in force.

9 JUDGE CASSESE: Sorry. What sort of

10 protective order, for the redaction, authorising you to

11 redact the statements or protective measures?

12 MR. BOWERS: Your Honour, it's pretty much

13 our standard protective order with regard to the

14 witness statements that the Defence receives, that they

15 will only use those in connection with the preparation

16 of the Defence and not disclose them to the media.

17 It's the same order that's been issued in prior

18 proceedings.

19 JUDGE CASSESE: All right. So we will do so

20 as soon as possible, maybe today or tomorrow, so that

21 upon receiving this order, you may then be able to

22 disclose all this material to the Defence?

23 MR. BOWERS: Absolutely, Your Honours.

24 JUDGE CASSESE: So by when? Say, by next

25 Monday, perhaps?

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1 MR. BOWERS: At the latest, hopefully sooner.

2 JUDGE CASSESE: Sooner, wonderful.

3 So, Mr. Fila, you have taken notice of this

4 pledge by the Prosecution?

5 MR. FILA: Yes, I fully agree that this

6 should not be published. You know what my views are on

7 publishing anything in the papers before the witness

8 has testified. You know the case of a high ranking

9 official. We read everything in the paper in Belgrade

10 before he testified. I agree fully that this should be

11 a principle of this Tribunal.

12 I have been authorised to receive this

13 material on Monday, regardless of whether my colleague,

14 Mr. Bakrac arrives or not, because he has some problems

15 with the visa, the usual problems with the visa. But I

16 will be receiving the material on his behalf, and

17 that's not a problem at all.

18 So as far as the expediency is concerned,

19 everything will be okay, and I agree fully that a date

20 should be set now, but not before mid September. We

21 really, all of us, the Defence counsel, we need our

22 rest.

23 JUDGE CASSESE: Yes, we too actually, we

24 Judges, because we are working very hard. I assume

25 this also applies to the Prosecution.

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1 Generally speaking, you would be prepared to

2 proceed to trial. Of course, I assume we can't set a

3 date for trial now. It's very difficult.

4 MR. BOWERS: Your Honour, just for the

5 court's edification, this is a fully prepared case. We

6 do not anticipate any significant amendment to the

7 indictment. At the most, we would be possibly dropping

8 the Article 2 counts to expedite the trial. It's

9 fairly straightforward, and we are prepared to proceed

10 whenever the court wishes.

11 JUDGE CASSESE: I see. Therefore, I think we

12 should now think of a status conference. We should try

13 to set a date for a status conference so that on that

14 particular occasion, which will be held in closed

15 session. Of course, as you know, that particular

16 occasion, we could make all the necessary arrangements

17 for the beginning of the trial which, as Mr. Fila

18 rightly pointed out, in any case, cannot start before

19 mid September, also because we have so many other

20 cases. We are sitting, we, our Trial Chamber, we have

21 six cases now, and probably so -- any suggestion about

22 a date for the status conference?

23 MR. FILA: No problem. Whatever date is good

24 for the Prosecution, I will make sure that my colleague

25 is here. Although the court should set the date.

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1 JUDGE CASSESE: We would like to suggest a

2 date which may be then set later on for mid August, the

3 second part of August, because at that stage probably

4 your colleague -- for the status conference, not for

5 the beginning of the trial.

6 MR. FILA: I'm sorry. But the Italians, they

7 have their Ferragosto when everybody is on vacation.

8 That's why I was laughing. I'm sorry, Your Honour, I

9 apologise.

10 JUDGE CASSESE: You know that we will start a

11 new trial, Kupreskic, on the 17th of August, and we

12 will go on, I think, for four weeks in a row sitting on

13 Kupreskic. Well, Ferragosto is the 15th of August so,

14 therefore, it is the -- we are sticking to the

15 Ferragosto celebration.

16 I wonder whether between the 17th of August

17 and the end of August, this status conference could be

18 held? You don't have, in principle, any opposition?

19 We will let you know in due time, maybe in one week,

20 which particular day is more convenient. All right?

21 Any questions, any comments, any procedural

22 matters? I wonder whether my colleagues have any

23 questions to ask; no? All right, the hearing, then,

24 may be adjourned. The hearing is adjourned.

25 --- Whereupon hearing adjourned at

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