Date: 14.01.2015
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Registry and Chambers:
Magdalena Spalińska, Spokesperson for Registry and Chambers, made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
Welcome to our first press briefing of 2015. I’d like to wish you all a very happy new year.
On 23 December, the Tribunal made public the decision issued by the President on 10 November granting early release to Zoran Žigić. In November 2001, Žigić, a reserve police officer in the Prijedor municipality of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war, committed against non-Serbs. In his decision, the President noted that, although the high gravity of Žigić’s offences weighed against his early release, as of 16 December 2014 he would have served two-thirds of his sentence and had demonstrated some signs of rehabilitation. On 16 December 2014, Zoran Žigić was released to Bosnia and Herzegovina from an Austrian prison.
Yesterday, 13 January, the Trial Chamber denied the Prosecution’s request of 1 December 2014 to revoke the provisional release of Vojislav Šešelj, ruling that this request was inadmissible as it had not been formulated as an appeal. The Chamber also ruled that no violation of the conditions of the Accused’s provisional release had occurred, adding that although the Accused's statements to the press were regrettable, they did not constitute the threatening of witnesses.
I’ll turn now to the court schedule.
The judicial recess ended on Monday. The trial of Ratko Mladić will resume next Monday, 19 January, at 09:30 in Courtroom I. The trial of Goran Hadžić is currently adjourned until 2 February due to the health of the Accused.
A reminder that a Status Conference will be held in the case of Jadranko Prlić and others on Wednesday, 21 January, at 15:00 in Courtroom I.
And finally, a Status Conference in the case of Radovan Karadžić will be held on 28 January at 13:00 in Courtroom 3. The Chamber concluded that it was in the interest of justice to hold a Status Conference at this stage of the proceedings in order for the Accused to raise any health or detention issue he might have.
Questions
No questions were asked.