Weekly Press Briefing - 27 September 2011

Date: 27.09.2011
Time: 12:00

Registry and Chambers:

Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:

Good afternoon,

I’ll turn directly to activities in the courtroom today:

In the trial of Haradinaj and others, the Trial Chamber is currently hearing the testimony of Witness 77 who is testifying about the activities of the FARK - the Armed Forces of Kosovo during the period relevant to the indictment. This trial continues this week and next as scheduled.

Proceedings in the trial of Radovan Karadžić, will resume this afternoon at 14:15 in Courtroom I with the testimony of protected witness KDZ192 in closed session. This trial continues this week and next as scheduled.

A Status Conference will be held in the Appeals case of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač on Thursday at 15:30 in courtroom III.

Regarding next week’s courtroom schedule:

The trial in the case of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović will resume on Tuesday, 4 October at 14:15 in Courtroom II after a period of adjournment requested by Stanišić’s Defence, in order to assist with the preparation of the defence case.

A status conference will be held in Appeals case of Vujadin Popović and others also next Tuesday at 11:00 in courtroom III.

Also in courtroom III next week, a Status Conference will be held in the case of Ratko Mladić on Thursday, 6 October at 14:30.

Finally, a reminder that the trial of Mićo Stanišić and Stojan Župljanin is currently adjourned and will resume on Monday, 10 October at 9:00 in Courtroom III.

I will conclude with an update on the activities of the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme. Today the Tribunal welcomes a group of witness support professionals from Croatia for a one-day study visit. The visit is taking place as part of the Tribunal’s ongoing efforts to increase cooperation and knowledge sharing with our counterparts in the former Yugoslavia. Participants will spend time with colleagues in the Tribunal’s groundbreaking Victims and Witnesses Section and will take part in discussions on issues such as how to work with severely traumatised witnesses. The visit has been organised in cooperation with the European Commission, through its Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument.

Office of the Prosecutor:

There was no statement from the Office of the Prosecutor.

Questions:

Regarding the contempt of court case of Florence Hartmann, a journalist asked if it could be confirmed whether the first or second instalments of Hartmann’s fine imposed by the Trial Chamber following the Judgement had been paid, following the expiry of the deadlines for these two payments. Jelačić confirmed that no payment has been received to date and that it was probable that during the course of today, the Registrar would issue a filing to this effect directed at the Appeals Chamber in this case. Any further action would be determined by the Appeals Chamber.

Regarding the contempt of court case against Shefqet Kabashi, a journalist asked whether the Trial Chamber had received any information from the Prosecution on its investigation into whether there are grounds for a new indictment of contempt against Kabashi, given the deadline set by the Trial Chamber of 16 September. Jelačić explained that such investigations would take place confidentially and the results would be treated as confidential by all parties until a decision was made on the issuing of a new indictment. Given this confidentiality, it would not be possible to confirm details at this stage.

Turning finally to a question received from a journalist in Germany as part of the Interactive Press Briefing, Nerma Jelačić was asked when a decision can be expected on whether the Mladić case will be split into two separate trials. This follows a motion submitted by the Prosecution on 16 August to sever the Mladić indictment and conduct two separate trials. The Defence has opposed this motion.

Jelačić confirmed that no decision had yet been made yet by the Pre-Trial Chamber on this issue. She explained that there are no deadlines prescribed by the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure for ruling on such motions. The Trial Chamber is currently examining the motion and the responses and counter-responses submitted by both parties and will issue the decision as soon as possible. At a status conference for this case on 25 August, Judge Orie stated that the pending status of the decision on this motion should not impact on the parties’ preparation for the trial proper. In line with this, both parties have been actively taking part in pre-trial proceedings which take place outside the courtrooms. More information could be made available at the status conference due to take place on 6 October.