Date: 06.06.2012
Time: 12:00
Registry and Chambers:
Nerma Jelačić, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
Closing arguments in the trial of Mićo Stanišić and Stojan Župljanin concluded last Friday. The Prosecution asked for the two accused to be sentenced to life imprisonment whilst the Defence asked for an acquittal. Zupljanin’s Defence added that should the Accused be found guilty, that he be given a sentence ‘at the lowest end of the spectrum’. A total of 147 witnesses came to testify, among whom 127 witnesses were called by the Prosecution, 7 by Stanišić’s Defence, 10 by Župljanin’s Defence and finally 3 were called by the Chamber. During 353 trial days, more than 4000 exhibits were admitted into evidence - 3025 by the Prosecution and 1013 for both Defence teams.
Also in this case, the parties were this week ordered to file public redacted versions of their respective final trial briefs, including the annexes where applicable by 12 July 2012. All parties filed their final trial briefs confidentially on 14 May 2012.
A housekeeping session will be held tomorrow in the trial of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović at 9:00 in Courtroom II. Simatović’s last Defence witness, former Serbian State Security Officer Radivoje Mičić, completed his testimony last Wednesday. His testimony was followed by the testimony of Radenko Novaković, who was recalled at the request of the Prosecution. Novaković was also a member of the Serbian State Security Service during the relevant period covered by the indictment. Over the course of the trial, the Prosecution called a total of 62 witnesses; Stanišić’s Defence called 19 witnesses and 14 were called to testify on behalf of Franko Simatović.
Turning to the case of Radovan Karadžić, the accused will make his Rule 98bis submissions on Monday, 11 June at 9:00 in Courtroom I. The Prosecution will respond to his submissions on Wednesday, 13 June also at 9:00 in Courtroom I. According to Rule 98bis, the Trial Chamber can enter a judgement of acquittal on any count in the indictment by oral decision at the close of the Prosecution case if there is no evidence capable of supporting a conviction. The Prosecution case officially closed on 25 May 2012.
The Trial Chamber in this case is currently carrying out a five-day site visit to locations relevant to the indictment in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina and its surrounding areas. This visit, which began on Monday, is taking place under Rule 4 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence which sets out that a ‘Chamber may exercise its functions at a place other than the seat of the Tribunal, if so authorised by the President in the interests of justice’.
The trial in the third contempt case of Vojislav Šešelj will be held on Tuesday, 12 June, immediately after the pre-trial conference which will start at 9:00 in Courtroom I. Šešelj is accused of having disobeyed Chambers' orders to remove certain books and documents from his website. These orders were passed after his convictions for having published four books he authored and six confidential filings which all reveal confidential information on protected witnesses.
Finally the Tribunal’s President, Judge Theodor Meron, will address the United Nations Security Council tomorrow, 7 June at 10:00 New York time – 16:00 in The Hague, to provide an update on the work of the Tribunal and the progress made towards the completion of its mandate. The President’s address will be immediately followed by that of the Tribunal’s Prosecutor. Press releases and copies of the President and Prosecutor’s speeches will be issued subsequently.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Frederick van Swinnen, Special Advisor to the Prosecutor, made no statement.
Questions:
Asked if the Prosecution could give an update on the progress of providing documentation to Mladic's defence, Swinnen replied that the Prosecution had provided on 21 May information to the Chamber about the disclosure errors that occurred in that case. Swinnen reiterated that the Prosecution had stated in its motion that it would not be opposed to a reasonable delay of only a limited duration. Following the decision of the Chamber to adjourn until 25 June, the Defence requested additional time to prepare for the presentation of the evidence. Swinnen said that the Prosecution will soon set out its position in a response to the Defence's motion and provide updated information on the status of disclosure.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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