Date: 26.9.2012
Time: 12:00
Registry and Chambers:
Nerma Jelačić, Head of Communications, made the following statement:
Good afternoon,
The appeal hearing in the case of Momčilo Perišić has been scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 30 October 2012, in Courtroom I from 9:00 onwards. Perišić, a former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 27 years’ imprisonment on 6 September 2011 for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Perišić was found guilty by majority in the Trial Chamber of aiding and abetting murders, inhumane acts, persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, and attacks on civilians in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. He was also found guilty, by a majority of Judges, of failing to punish his subordinates for their crimes of murder, attacks on civilians and injuring and wounding civilians during the rocket attacks on Zagreb on 2 and 3 May 1995. Perišić was unanimously acquitted of charges of aiding and abetting extermination as a crime against humanity in Srebrenica and of command responsibility in relation to crimes in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. Perišić’s judgment was the first handed down by the Tribunal in a case against an official of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the case of Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, the Chamber yesterday extended Simatović’s provisional release with an exact return date to be set as soon as the scheduling of the closing arguments in this case is finalised. The Chamber currently projects that the closing arguments will be heard not later than November or December 2012.
In the course of last Monday’s Status Conference in the appeals case of Milan and Sredoje Lukić, Judge Gϋney announced that the appeal judgement could be rendered before the winter recess at a date yet to be confirmed.
In the case of Ratko Mladić, the Trial Chamber is currently hearing the testimony of protected witness RM-145, who is testifying via video-link about the events in and around the municipality of Novi Grad, including his detention in Rajlovac and the execution in Sokoline. Once his testimony concludes, Osman Selak, former Officer with the Yugoslav People’s Army, will resume his testimony from yesterday. Mladić, who has waived his right to attend the examination of the protected witness, indicated that he would return to the courtroom to follow the rest of Selak’s testimony.
Office of the Prosecutor:
Frederick Swinnen, Special Advisor to the Prosecutor, made the following statement:
On 24 September, in the Karadzic case, the OTP filed its appeals brief against the Chamber’s Judgement of Acquittal at the 98bis stage in relation to count 1 of the Indictment which charged the accused with genocide in relation to the events in certain municipalities in 1992. The brief is now publicly available.
Questions:
No questions were asked.
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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