ICTY Weekly Press Briefing - 3rd Oct 2007

ICTY Weekly Press Briefing

Date: 03.10.2007

Time: 12:00

Registry and Chambers:

Liam McDowall, Senior Policy Advisor to the Registry made the following announcement:

The Trial Chamber today granted temporary provisional release to Ramush Haradinaj to return to Kosovo on compassionate grounds. Haradinaj will be released for a period of four days starting today and returning on 7 October. The release is granted in order for him to attend the funeral of a close family member.

His release is subject to specific terms and conditions as set out in the decision that provides for the release to be of a private family nature. It specifically rules out Haradinaj’s engagement in any political activity, contacts with the media, as well as contacts with any national or international official not necessitated for security reasons.

SCHEDULE:

The closing arguments in the Dragomir Milošević case will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, 9 and 10 October, in courtoom I.

In terms of on-going trials, the Haradinaj et al, Prlić et al, Popović et al and Delić trials will all continue next week.

Next Friday the Tribunal will be closed to observe the Eid-al Fitr holiday.

Office of the Prosecutor:

Olga Kavran, Spokesperson for the Office of the Prosecutor, read out the following statement from the Prosecutor:

Serbia’s cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor and my assessment of that cooperation is generating a great deal of interest among those following the work of the ICTY. As agreed with representatives of the European Union, later this month, I will provide them with a comprehensive assessment of Serbia’s efforts in this regard.

During my most recent visits to Belgrade, everyone I met, both on the political and on the operative level, assured me of Belgrade’s commitment to full cooperation with the Tribunal. I welcomed this declared commitment.

However, although we have seen some results in the past four months, progress has been rather slow. We are still waiting for documents, some of which were requested last year. We are also still waiting for full access to requested government archives. Mladić, Karadžić, Župljanin and Hadzić remain at large. I am increasingly worried that this slow progress may not lead to a positive outcome.

This is why I would like to take this opportunity to again urge the authorities in Belgrade to take more effective action towards full cooperation with my Office.

First of all, I would like to reiterate that the four remaining fugitives, and in particular Ratko Mladić, must be located and arrested. Secondly, all pending requests for assistance must be complied with and all outstanding documents delivered immediately. Finally, I seek full and unconditional access to requested government archives.

Any further delay in fulfilling these obligations jeopardizes the successful completion of the Tribunal’s work and interferes with the Tribunal’s ability to fulfill its mandate. It also inevitably brings into question Serbia’s willingness and ability to fulfill its commitment of full cooperation with the ICTY.

I strongly hope that the authorities in Belgrade will do their utmost to honor their declared commitment and fulfill all their obligations toward the Office of the Prosecutor so as to achieve full cooperation with the Tribunal.

Questions:

Responding to a request for a reaction to the so-called "Carla tapes" containing discussions between the Prosecutor and Karadžić, Kavran stated that the Prosecutor declined to comment. Asked whether she would comment on the authenticity of the tapes, she said no.

Asked whether the Prosecutor really believed that Karadžić’s life would be in danger should NATO try to arrest him, Kavran again stated that the Prosecutor would not comment. She added that the Prosecutor had stated on a number of occasions and in many fora that, in her opinion, the international community had not done enough in the early days, immediately following the war. The responsibility for arresting the remaining fugitives and transferring them to The Hague today in 2007, was the responsibility of the states in the region, in particular Serbia, but also any state in whose territory they may be found.

Responding for a request for confirmation that a meeting between the Prosecutor and the speaker of the Republika Srpska Parliament in 2004, Kavran confirmed that the Prosecutor had had many meetings with officials in the Republika Srpska, in Serbia and Croatia and throughout the region and throughout the eight years she had been in office. Kavran reiterated that the Prosecutor had no further comment.

In relation to the Croatian reaction to the Mrksić et al judgement, a journalist asked what the Tribunal’s position was on the statement by the Croatian Prime Minister that Croatia would issue an arrest warrant for Miroslav Radić who was acquitted by the ICTY. The journalist wondered whether it was possible for a state to issue an arrest warrant against an individual acquitted by the Tribunal. In response, McDowall stated that it still had to be determined whether there would be any appeals proceedings. It would be more appropriate to discuss the matter once that issue had been concluded.

For the OTP, Kavran stated that the question would best be put to the local authorities who announced that they would issue the arrest warrant. She added that the Prosecutor had already stated her opinion in respect of the judgement. The Prosecutor said in her statement that she found it incomprehensible that somebody who was found guilty of aiding and abetting torture would be sentenced to five years. The prosecution had announced that it would be filing an appeal, however the team had to study the judgement very carefully to determine exactly what the appeal would entail. She added that the rules provide for a 30 day deadline within which this notice of appeal can be filed. It therefore remained to be seen what the appeal would look like.

Kavran further added that it should be clear that any suggestions that the entire work of the Tribunal, which had achieved a great deal in the past 14 years, should be brought into question by one judgement would be completely unfounded and superficial.

Documents:

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