Date: 02.07.2008
Time: 12:00
Registry and Chambers:
Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
The courtroom schedule is quite busy for the month of July.
Tomorrow, an appeals judgement will be rendered in the Naser Orić case at 9 a.m. in courtroom I. Orić, a former senior commander of Bosnian Muslim forces in and around Srebrenica was convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for failing to take steps to prevent the murder and cruel treatment of a number of Serb prisoners in 1992 and 1993 in the former UN ‘safe area’. Both the prosecution and defence appealed the trial chamber judgement.
On Friday a status conference will be held in the contempt case against Ljubiša Petković at 2:15 p.m. in courtroom I. The Accused is charged with contempt due to his failure to answer the Tribunal’s confidential subpoena of 7 April 2008 to appear as a Chamber’s witness in the case of Vojislav Šešelj.
Next week, the trial of former Bosnian Serb paramilitaries Milan and Sredoje Lukić is scheduled to begin with a pre-trial conference and opening statements of the Prosecution on 9 July at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom III. The two cousins are accused of murder, torture and extermination committed against Bosnian Muslims in the eastern Bosnian town of Višegrad during the 1992-1995 conflict.
Elsewhere, following President Fausto Pocar’s report of Serbia to the UN Security Council for non cooperation the authorities there have delivered the summons to chamber witness Aleksandar Dimitrijevic who is now due to testify in Milutinovc and others case. The Trial Chamber has ordered that Dimitrijević can be heard via video conference link on 8 and 9 July. In the same order, the Trial Chamber also denied the defence request by the six accused to interview the witness prior to his testimony. The time of testimony and courtroom is pending confirmation.
As for the ongoing cases, the trials for Popović et al., Prlić et al., Gotovina et al. and Vojislav Šešelj will continue this week and next in the Tribunal’s courtrooms.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Olga Kavran, Spokesperson for the Office of the Prosecutor, made the following statement:
The Prosecutor was in Russia yesterday where he met with Foreign Minister Mr. Sergej Lavrov. This visit is part of the Prosecutor's regular contacts with UN Security Council member states. Prosecutor Brammertz and Minister Lavrov discussed issues of relevance to fulfilling the mandate of the ICTY focusing in particular on the completion strategy and the cooperation of states.
Questions:
Asked if this was the first time an ICTY Prosecutor has met with Russian officials, Kavran confirmed it was the first time.