ICTY Weekly Press Briefing - 8th Mar 2006

Please note that this
is not a verbatim transcript of the Press
Briefing. It is merely a summary.

Date:
08.03.2006

Time: 13:30

Registry
and Chambers:

Alexandra Milenov, Liaison
Officer for Registry and Chambers, made
the following statement:

Good afternoon.

This morning as many
of you have already seen, the Tribunal’s
Appeals Chamber rendered its judgement
in the case against Momir Nikolic, a
Bosnian Serb army officer convicted of
crimes committed in Srebrenica in 1995.
The Appeals Chamber reduced his sentence
from 27 to 20 years in prison. The Tribunal’s
press release on the judgement is available
on our website.

As we announced last
Monday, the Tribunal’s President,
Judge Fausto Pocar, ordered an internal
inquiry into the suicide of Milan Babic,
a former leader in the war-time Croatian
Serb political entity, which happened
in the Detention Unit last Sunday. President
Pocar has named the Tribunal’s
Vice-President, Judge Kevin Parker, to
head this inquiry.

In terms of the courtroom
schedule, the judgement in the case against
Ivica Marijacic, a journalist and editor-in-chief
of a publication in Croatia, and Markica
Rebic, former head of the Croatian security
service, for contempt of the Tribunal
will be read out on Friday, 10 March
at 9:00 in courtroom I.

The judgement in the
Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura
case, both high level commanders in the
3rd Corps of the Bosnian army, will be
read out on Wednesday, March 15 at 14:15
in courtroom I.

There will also be a
regular status conference in the case
against former Bosnian Serb Army officers
Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic, both
convicted of crimes committed in Srebrenica
in 1995, on Monday, 13 March at 9:00
in courtroom I.

A further initial appearance
will be held for former officers of the
Serbian Interior Ministry State Security
Service, Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic
on 13 March at 11:00 in courtroom I.
The accused will be asked to enter a
plea on charges in the amended indictment
at this time via video link.

The trial against former
Yugoslav and Serb President Slobodan
Milosevic will continue next week on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9:00
in courtroom I.

The trial against Yugoslav
Army officers Mile Mrksic, Miroslav Radic
and Veselin Slivancanin continues this
afternoon, tomorrow and Friday at 14:15
in courtroom I. It will sit next week
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 14:15
in courtroom I, on Wednesday at 15:45
and Friday at 9:00 also in courtroom
I.

The trial against Milan
Martic, a high-level political leader
of the war-time Croatian Serb entity,
continues this afternoon and Friday at
14:15 in courtroom II and Thursday at
9:00, also in courtroom II. The trial
continues next week Monday through Friday
at 9:00 in courtroom II.

The trial against Momcilo Krajisnik,
a former high-level leader of the Bosnian
Serb political entity, will continue
this week on Thursday afternoon at 14:15
and Friday morning at 9:00 in courtroom
II. The trial will sit next week Monday
through Friday at 14:15 in courtroom
II.

The trial against Bosnian Army officer
Naser Oric will sit this Friday at 10:00
in courtroom I to discuss administrative
matters regarding exhibits.

Office of the
Prosecutor:

Jean Daniel Ruch, Special
Political Adviser to the Prosecutor,
made no statement.

Questions:

Asked if there had been a decision
on legal counsel for Ante Gotovina and
if a status conference had been scheduled,
Milenov said that there was no final
decision.

Milenov added that the accreditation
of a defence counsel sometimes took a
bit of time to assure that the counsel
were in good standing with their bar
association, to be members of the Association
of Defence Counsel at the Tribunal, to
have the requesite language requirements
and professional experience.

In terms of the status conference
in this case, Milenov stated that she
had not seen a scheduling order.

Asked if a suicide letter was left
behind by Milan Babic, Milenov said that
she could only repeat what had been said
so far on the matter. The Dutch authorities
conducted an investigation immediately
after Milan Babic’s body was found
in the Detention Unit last Sunday and
confirmed that the cause of death was
suicide. The Tribunal has not released
any further information pending the completion
of the internal inquiry, said Milenov.

Asked whether it was the local or
national Dutch authorities that conducted
the investigation, Milenov said that
it was local authorities.

Asked whether or not the prosecution
intended on using the testimony of Milan
Babic in future cases, for example, his
testimony given in the Milosevic case,
Ruch stated that it would be up the judges
to decide. Ruch said that the prosecution
was working on the issue. The testimony
given by Milan Babic in the Milosevic
case would indeed be valuable in other
cases, added Ruch.

Documents: