Date: 13.02.2013
Time: 12:00
Registry and Chambers:
Magdalena Spalińska, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
I would like to first address a question that was raised during last week’s press briefing regarding proceedings in the trial of Vojislav Šešelj. The question was why no Status Conferences had been held since the end of the presentation of evidence. I wish to clarify that the Tribunal's rule that Status Conferences are to be held at regular intervals applies to pre-trial and appeals proceedings (Rule 65bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence). The Trial Chamber in this case is now in deliberation and the Accused can continue communicating with the Chamber through other means.
Hearings in the trials of Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić continue this week and next as scheduled.
In the case of Radovan Karadžić, the Trial Chamber is currently hearing the testimony of Vitomir Žepinić, former deputy Minister of Interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is the 73rd witness to be called by the Defence.
In the case of Ratko Mladić, Ekrem Suljević, a former investigator in the Ministry of Interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is currently testifying. He participated in the investigation of a number of shelling incidents in Sarajevo, including the ‘Markale 1’ massacre. He is the 71st witness to be called by the Prosecution.
Proceedings in the trial of Goran Hadžić are expected to resume on Monday, 4 March 2013 at 9:00 in Courtroom III.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Frederick Swinnen, Special Advisor to the Prosecutor, made the following statement:
We have had a number of questions in relation to the Mladić trial:
At the end of this week we will have completed 22 weeks of trial during which time 70 witnesses will have testified before the Chamber.
Beginning on 8 April, the focus of the Prosecution's presentation of its evidence will shift to Srebrenica and will commence with the testimony of Jean-Rene Ruez. Jean-Rene Ruez is a former OTP staff member who worked for the Prosecution as the Lead Investigator of the Srebrenica investigation. He will testify about the discovery of evidence related to the detention, mass execution, primary burial and secondary burial of persons in and around Srebrenica.
After the presentation of evidence on Srebrenica, we intend to call a number of other witnesses, including, witnesses whose testimonies are related to the crimes in Sarajevo and in the BiH municipalities.
Questions:
Asked for the reason in the break in the case of Goran Hadžić, Spalińska explained that the break is to enable the Judges to complete final deliberations in the Prlić et al. and Stanišić and Župljanin cases.
Asked whether the judgement in the Prlić et al. case was expected anytime soon, Spalińska responded that in the latest Completion Strategy report which the President presented to the Security Council last December, the anticipated date for the delivery of judgement in the case was March 2013.