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ICTY Weekly Press Briefing - 3rd Mar 2004

ICTY Weekly Press Briefing - 3 March 2004

Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing.
It is merely a summary.


ICTY Weekly Press Briefing

Date: 03.03.2004

Time: 12:00


REGISTRY AND CHAMBERS

Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers, made the following
statement


Good afternoon,


Now that the Prosecution has rested its case in
the Milosevic trial, I thought it might be useful to outline to
you the steps taken by the Registry in response to Trial Chamber
III’s Order of 17 September 2003 concerning the preparation and
presentation of Mr. Milosevic’s defence case.


In the Order, the Trial Chamber ordered the
Registrar to provide facilities, in a privileged setting, for Mr.
Milosevic to prepare his defence, including facilities for both
conferring with witnesses and others about the defence case and
to review documents and other materials relevant to his defence.
In addition, the Registrar was ordered to provide the logistical
support necessary to enable this to happen.


In response, the Registry has taken a number
of steps. These include:


the provision of a room or office in the Detention Unit (DU)
which is secure and in which Mr. Milosevic can interview and proof
witnesses who have been called to testify in court; review materials
and documents; and confer with his legal associates and others
relevant to his defence. The room is accessible only through a
dual lock system, with Mr. Milosevic having sole access to one
of the keys. The room will be equipped with a privileged telephone
and other office equipment.

the provision of an alternate location for Mr. Milosevic to
meet witnesses who may be reluctant to enter the DU.

the appointment of a Legal Liaison Officer who will be dedicated
to providing assistance to Mr. Milosevic in the preparation of
his defence case. One key role of this individual will be to liaise
between the Accused and the Victims and Witnesses Section (VWS).
The VWS will provide its usual support with respect to witnesses
and will provide logistical support in relation to travel, accommodation
and support of witnesses called to testify.

Mr. Milosevic has not claimed indigence, so the cost of contacting
potential witnesses has to be borne by him. The costs relating
to provision of the facilities that I have listed, such as the
room, the facilities in the room, the services of the Liaison
Officer and the services of the VWS, will be covered by the Tribunal.

With regard to the court schedule and in
addition to the ongoing trials


A couple of other reminders:


A new Sentencing hearing in the Deronjic case will
be held this Friday starting at 9 a.m.


Following the conclusion of the Prosecution case
in The Prosecutor v. Blagojevic and Jokic, Trial Chamber I has ordered
that:


1. With respect to a possible Motion for judgement
of acquittal pursuant to Rule 98bis:


Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic shall each file a Motion
for entry of a judgement of acquittal pursuant to Rule 98 bis,
if any, by no later than 2 March 2004;

The Prosecution shall file its response to any such Motions
by no later that 12 March 2004;

2. With respect to the Defence cases:


Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan Jokic shall file preliminary witness
and exhibits lists pursuant to Rule 65 ter (G) by 18 March
2004;

Pursuant to Rule 73 ter, a Pre-Defence Conference shall
be held on 5 April 2004;

Vidoje Blagojevic’s presentation of evidence shall commence
on Tuesday, 6 April 2004, if necessary following the Trial Chamber’s
Judgement pursuant to Rule 98 bis.


The hearing on appeal in The Prosecutor v. Kvocka,
Radic, Zigic and Prcac
will start on 23 March 2004.


There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Meakic, Gruban, Fustar and Knezevic
on 11 March starting
at 12 noon.


Office of the Prosecutor:


Florence Hartmann, Spokeswoman for the Office of
the Prosecutor, made the following statement:


I would just like to underline the fact that, despite
repeated allegations made by the Croatian press, (who have written
that the Prosecutor will address the Security Council regarding
Croatia on March 17) no hearings relating to the ICTY are scheduled
to take place in March before the Security Council.


Questions:


Asked whether Motions regarding acquittal in the
Blagojevic and Jokic case had been filed, Landale replied that Motions
had been filed by both individuals and that they would be made available
after the briefing.


Asked whether a start date for the Halilovic trial
had been scheduled, Landale replied none had yet.


A journalist commented on apparent allegations
made by a former high ranking Bosnian Serb official of a deal between
the US and Karadzic regarding his arrest. Asked whether the OTP
had any indication as to whether this might be true or that this
might be an explanation for the failure to arrest Karadzic over
the past years, Hartmann replied that this was an old story. The
OTP already had many occasions to check whether there was anything
to the allegations and was always told that there was not. She added
that each time the Prosecution had asked Washington whether there
was a commitment to arrest Karadzic they were always told that there
was.


Asked whether Mr. Milosevic had already begun
using the facilities made available to him at the Detention Unit,
Landale replied that he believed that he had.


Asked to confirm that Milosevic’s health had
improved and that he was in a position to have commenced the preparation
of his defence, Landale replied that Milosevic’s health had improved
as far as he knew, that he that he agreed to use the facilities
made available to him and that he had done so. He had no more details
regarding this matter, he concluded.


Documents:


The Prosecutor v. Fatmir Limaj, Haradin Bala
and Isal Musliu


25 February 2004 "Decision on Musliu’s Application
for Certification to Appeal ‘Decision on Prosecution’s Motion to
Amend the Amended Indictment’."


27 February 2004 "Prosecution’s Notice of
Filing of Pre-Trial Brief and other Documents Pursuant to Rule 65ter."


The Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic


26 February 2004 "Order Assigning a Judge
to a Case Before a Trial Chamber."


The Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanisic and Franko
Simatovic


26 February 2004 "Order Assigning a Judge
to a Case Before a Trial Chamber."


The Prosecutor v. Milan Milutinovic, Dragoljub
Ojdanic and Nikola Sainovic


26 February 2004 "Order Assigning a Judge
to a Case Before a Trial Chamber."


27 February 2004 "Decision."


The Prosecutor v. Miroslav Deronjic


25 February 2004 "Urgent Order on the Production
of Evidence."


26 February 2004 "Submission of Exhibits Relating
to Testimony of Miroslav Deronjic."


The Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic


25 February 2004 "Prosecution Filing of Declaration
of Bernard O’Donnell and Attachments."


25 February 2004 "Decision on Motion Filed
by the Defence of Milan Martic for Access to Confidential Transcripts
and Documents."


25 February 2004 "Order on Prosecution Submission
of Kosovo "Proof of Death" Report and Motion Seeking the
Admission of Additional Exhibits in Relation to the Kosovo Indictment."


26 February 2004 "Decision on Prosecution
Motion for Clarification and Reconsideration of Trial Chamber’s
Decision on Prosecution Motion for the Admission of Witness Statement
of Investigator Bernard O’Donnell in Lieu of Viva Voce Testimony
Pursuant to Rules 54 and 92 bis."


27 February 2004 "Prosecution Filing of Analysis
and Interpretation of Documents Pursuant to Order of 12 February
2004."


27 February 2004 "Prosecution Submission of
Joint Command Order of 15 April 1999 with Analysis and Interpretation
Pursuant to Order of Trial Chamber Dated 25 February 2003 with Annexes
A and B."


01 March 2004 "Amicus Curiae Submissions on
Self-Defence Arising in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Part of the Case
as Stipulated in the Order of the Chamber to the Amicus of 23 July
2003."


The Prosecutor v. Naser Oric


26 February 2004 "Order Assigning a Judge
to a Case Before a Trial Chamber."


The Prosecutor v. Dusko Jovanovic


27 February 2004 "Dusko Jovanovic’s Preliminary
Motion to Dismiss for the Lack of Jurisdiction."


The Prosecutor v. Enver Hadzihanovic and
Amir Kubura


27 February 2004 " Decision Relative au Constat
Judiciaire de Faits Admis dans D’Autres Affaires."


The Prosecutor v. Vidoje Blagojevic and Dragan
Jokic


2 March 2004 "Vidoje Blagojevic’s Motion for
Judgement of Acquittal Pursuant to Rule 98 Bis".


2 March 2004 "Defendant Dragan Jokic’s Motion
for Acquittal Pursuant to Rule 98 Bis".


The Prosecutor v. Stanislav Galic


2 March 2004 "Prosecution Appeal Brief".


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