| Press Release |
|
| (Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document) |
|
The Hague, 25 August 1999
JL/P.I.S./432-E
Statement by the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia on the arrest of Momir Talic today in Vienna, Austria
"On 12 March 1999, the Prosecutor, Justice Louise Arbour, signed an indictment charging General Momir Talic, the Chief of Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, together with Radislav Brdanin, with a crime against humanity, namely persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds. The indictment, which was confirmed by Judge Rodrigues on 14 March 1999, alleges that during 1992 the accused, as members of the Crisis Staff (Krizni Stab) of the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK), ordered, implemented, supported and assisted a plan designed to expel the Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb populations from the municipalities designated as part of the ARK, including the Prijedor municipality of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 6 July 1999, the accused Radislav Brdanin was arrested by SFOR troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was transferred to The Hague where he is awaiting trial.
Acting on information that the accused Momir Talic was travelling to Austria to attend a conference, on 24 August 1999 the Prosecutor arranged for a warrant of arrest directed to the Republic of Austria to be delivered to the Austrian authorities. Acting on this warrant, Momir Talic was arrested today and taken into custody in Vienna by those authorities. It is expected that the accused will appear before the local courts in Austria before his eventual surrender to the Tribunal in the near future.
The Prosecutor wishes to express her gratitude to the Austrian authorities for acting promptly on the warrant of arrest and for their very professional actions in apprehending Momir Talic. It is anticipated that the accused Momir Talic and Radislav Brdjanin will be tried together in a joint trial".
*****
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
For more information, please contact our Media Office in The Hague
Tel.: +31-70-512-8752; 512-5343; 512-5356 Fax: +31-70-512-5355 - Email: press [at] icty.org ()
Follow ICTY on Twitter and Youtube