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Seven Accused to Appeal Registrar's Decision to Withdraw Assignment of Defence Counsel.

Press Release
(Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document)
The Hague, 23 August 1999
JL/P.I.S./431-E

Seven Accused to Appeal Registrar's Decision to Withdraw Assignment of Defence Counsel.

The seven accused at the Tribunal’s Detention Unit who had their assignment of counsel withdrawn by the Registrar on 6 August 1999 have filed requests to the President of the Tribunal, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, for the decision to be reviewed.

The seven, Vladimir Santic, Mario Cerkez, Zoran Kupreskic, Mirjan Kupreskic, Drago Josipovic, Vlatko Kupreskic and Dragan Papic, filed their requests between 13 and 20 August 1999.

In support of their applications for review the accused state that: First, the amount that the detainees received from the various fund raising activities on their behalf was far lower than the DM 4,300,000 cited by the Registrar in her decision. Second, that the money that was raised was used not to pay for the detainees’ defence counsel, but primarily to help with the expenses incurred by families wishing to visit them in The Hague, for pocket money to spend in the detention centre, to pay for the defence in cases where assignment of counsel had not been granted, and for occasional assistance for their families in exceptional circumstances.

The matter now rests with President McDonald.