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Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing.
It is merely a summary.
ICTY Weekly Press Briefing
Date: 30.06.2004
Time: 12.00 p.m.
Registry and Chambers:
Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers,
made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
First, on behalf of the Tribunal, I would like
to express condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of
those killed in the helicopter crash in Sierra Leone yesterday.
The President of the Tribunal, Judge Theodor Meron,
yesterday addressed the Security Council in New York pursuant to
the requirements of Security Council resolution 1534, which asked
the Tribunal to provide, by 31 May 2004 and every six months thereafter,
"assessments by its President and Prosecutor, setting out
in detail the progress made towards implementation of the Completion
Strategy of the Tribunal, explaining what measures have been taken
to implement the Completion Strategy and what measures remain to
be taken, including the transfer of cases involving intermediate
and lower rank accused to competent national jurisdictions."
We distributed the texts of the President’s and
Prosecutor’s speeches yesterday evening, but those of you who do
not yet have copies can get them from the Press Office after this
or find them on our website.
As you know, the Defence Case in the Milosevic
trial will commence this Monday 5 July at 9 a.m. in Courtroom I.
It will run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week from 9
to 1.45 p.m. The following week it will run from Tuesday 13 July
to Thursday 15 July at the same times, and the following week to
revert back to Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We will keep you informed
of any changes to that schedule.
I would recommend that journalists have a look
at the ‘Omnibus Order on Matters Dealt with at the Pre-Defence
Conference’ issued by the Trial Chamber on 17 June by way of
preparation. In it, you will see that among other things, the Trial
Chamber has allowed Mr. Milosevic to make an opening statement at
the commencement of his case for up to four hours. Copies of the
Order can be obtained on request from my office and is available
on our website.
The period for media to accredit themselves for
the start of the Milosevic Defence Case comes to an end at 3 p.m.
tomorrow. The list of journalists granted accreditation will be
posted on our website at around 5.30 p.m. tomorrow, so those of
you who are granted a place in the public gallery can pick up tickets
at the advertised times. I would make a plea for those who can to
pick up their tickets on Friday to do so and avoid a last minute
rush on Monday morning.
Finally, with regard to the start of Milosevic’s
Defence Case, we are obviously expecting the appearance of many
more journalists than usual at the beginning of next week. Since
space will be at a premium, we would kindly and politely ask you
to try to keep your rooms as tidy as possible and to respect others’
space by sticking to the desks and areas assigned to you, where
possible.
On behalf of the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme:
From Friday 25 June until Monday 28 of June, Judges from the Special
Court for Sierra Leone were in The Hague, participating in a working
visit to the ICTY. The visit was organised and supported by the
War Crimes Studies Center and Human Rights Center of the University
of California, Berkeley and the International Center for Transitional
Justice, in association with the ICTY Outreach Programme.
The comprehensive programme included presentations by Judges, senior
ICTY representatives, members of the ADC and experts from the University
of California, Berkeley. Topics that were covered included an examination
of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and experiences in their
application, managing the trial in multiple defendant trials, case
management, managing the courtroom, victims and witnesses issues,
jurisprudence, theories of liability and elements of the crimes.
The successful visit concluded with a Judges roundtable, co-chaired
by the Registrar, in which Judges from the SCSL, the ICC and the
ICTY all participated.
In terms of court documents:
I would draw your attention to the ‘Decision
of the President on the Application for Pardon or Commutation of
Sentence of Miroslav Tadic’ handed down on 24 June 2004, in
which President Meron dismissed Miroslav Tadic’s application for
pardon or commutation of sentence. The detailed reasoning of the
Decision is available on request.
In terms of the remainder of the court schedule:
There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Mitar Rasevic on Friday 9 July at 9 a.m. in Courtroom II.
There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Kordic and Cerkez on Wednesday 21 July at 9 a.m. in Courtroom
III.
See
also the latest ADC-ICTY press briefing.
Office of the Prosecution:
Florence Hartmann stated that the address made
by the Prosecutor to the UN Security Council yesterday is available
by request or on the website.
Questions:
Asked if the Prosecutor had received any reaction to her statement
to the Security Council that the Tribunal stay open until the main
indictees had been arrested, Hartmann answered that she did not
know exactly what was talked about at the Security Council meeting
yesterday. She stated that the request was also shared by the President
that we could not close the Tribunal’s doors until the main indictees
were tried. This was something that had been said also by different
governments.
Hartmann added that the OTP would work to get the arrests as
soon as possible. If in December 2008 it was not complete, then
the OTP would ask that the Tribunal continue in its work to complete
a sentence or a decision against Karadzic, Mladic, or such indictees
at large.
A journalist pointed out that the Prosecutor expressed optimism
that Karadzic would be arrested by the end of June. Asked if this
optimism still stood, Hartmann replied that yesterday in New York
that the Prosecutor stated there was still 24 hours left. An arrest
warrant was still valid and an arrest could happen at anytime, she
said.
Hartmann further stated that the OTP had been informed that
some measure was to be taken against the local authorities in Bosnia
because they had failed to arrest Karadzic and Mladic and other
remaining fugitives. Officially there was an OHR press conference
in Sarejevo now, she said. There was strong pressure on local authorities
to make an arrest and as they failed to act, sanctions were being
taken by the international community.
Asked if the Prosecutor was undermining an arrest of Karadzic
or Mladic by her statement and possibly giving a warning to the
indictees, Hartmann replied that there was no secret operation either
now or yesterday and that it did not risk anything because there
were no moves being made by RS authorities.
Asked if the statement the Prosecutor had made risked her credibility,
Hartmann said that the Prosecutor was optimistic and would stay
optimistic that Karadzic, Mladic, and other indictees would be in
The Hague. Hartmann added that the Tribunal did not have their own
police and depended upon other people to make these arrests. Therefore,
specific days or hours of the arrests could not be secured, and
that they would not give up until the trials and investigations
were conducted. Hartmann then stated that they were spending all
their days trying to secure the arrests.
Hartmann said that there were specific requests by individuals
who had influence in Bosnia. Either SFOR who had competency over
the arrest, or the OHR who had competency over the local authorities
who were due to arrest fugitives, exerted pressures in order to
secure the arrests by the end of the month. Hartmann pointed out
that Bosnia was a candidate for the Partnership for Peace Programme
and that NATO had made it clear that it would lose the opportunity
to become a member this year if the indictees were not arrested.
She said that the Prosecutor had been optimistic that Bosnia would
move on the issue, but that did not happen. So, now there was decision
making by the OHR because they did not deliver, Hartmann said.
Landale added that in fact it had been almost 9 years since
both Mladic and Karadzic had been originally indicted and that it
was high time that they were transferred to the Tribunal. Landale
said that the President had made it absolutely clear that the Tribunal’s
work would not be done until those individuals mentioned time and
time again by the Tribunal and the Security Council -- Karadzic,
Mladic, Gotovina – as well as others, were transferred.
Asked how confident she was that these indictees were in Bosnia
and not another state, Hartmann replied that there were fugitives
in other states like Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia crossing borders,
and that was why the authorities in Bosnia should secure the border.
Each time there was pressure or risk for these fugitives, they fled
to the other side of the border, and if there was full cooperation
this would not be a problem because they would be arrested on either
side. Hartmann said that the indictees were moving to areas where
there was no respect for the obligation to transfer, and that the
problem was a problem of non compliance with the legal international
obligation.
Asked where Milan Babic had spent his 211 days already served,
Landale replied that he had no comment.
Documents:
The Prosecutor v. Miroslav Tadic
24 June 2004 "Decision on the President on
the Application for Pardon or Commutation of Sentence of Miroslav
Tadic". 4pg
The Prosecutor v. Vidoje Blagojevic et al
28 June 2004 "Defendant Dragan Jokic’s Notice
of Disclosure of Military Expert Witness Report Under Rule 94 bis."
55pg
29 June 2004 ""Defendant Dragan Jokic’s
Notice of Disclosure of Military Expert Witness Report Under Rule
94 bis." 127pg NB. BCS version and revised English
translation of above document. Please only request one of them.
The Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic
28 June 2004 "Momir Nikolic’s Motion for Leave
to File Rejoinder to Parts of the Prosecutor’s Reply in Relation
to her Motion to Strike Parts of Defence Appeal Brief and Evidence
not on Record." 5pg
The Prosecutor v. Vojislav Seselj
10 June 2004 "Defence Motion for a Ruling
on the Rights of the Accused to Communication and Visits While in
Detention." 23pg
14 June 2004 "Defence Motion for Provisional
Release." 23pg
18 June 2004 "Prosecution’s Appeal from the
"Decision on Motion by Vojislav Seselj Challenging Jurisdiction
and Form of Indictment"." 46pg
The Prosecutor v. Zeljko Mejakic et al
24 June 2004 "Prosecution’s Request for Certification."
5pg
The Prosecutor v. Jadranko Prlic et al
21 June 2004 "Prosecution Response to the
Accused Valentin Coric Application for Provisional Release."
10pg
The Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic
29 June 2004 "Prosecution Motion for Order
Concerning Accused’s Continued Non-Compliance with Trial Chamber
Orders." 3pg
The Prosecutor v. Mirko Norac
23 June 2004 "Order Assigning a Case to a
Trial Chamber." 2pg
24 June 2004 "Motion Opposing Decision for
First Appearance." 3pg
28 June 2004 "Order Assigning a Pre-Trial
Judge." 1pg
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