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1 Friday, 24th September, 1999
2 [Further Initial Appearance]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 4.05 p.m.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Good afternoon. These
7 proceedings are for a pleading on the amended
8 indictment and also to proceed with a Status
9 Conference.
10 Would the registrar please call the case?
11 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Case number
12 IT-96-23-PT, the Prosecutor of the Tribunal versus
13 Dragoljub Kunarac and Radomir Kovac.
14 JUDGE MUMBA: May I have the appearances,
15 please, for the Prosecutor?
16 MR. RYNEVELD: If it please the Court. Dirk
17 Ryneveld for the Prosecution with my two colleagues,
18 Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff and Peggy Kuo. We're prepared
19 to proceed this afternoon.
20 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
21 The Defence counsel for Kunarac first?
22 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Good
23 afternoon, Your Honours. I'm Slavisa Prodanovic,
24 attorney for the accused, Dragoljub Kunarac. Thank
25 you.
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1 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. The Defence counsel
2 for Mr. Kovac?
3 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Good
4 afternoon. I'm Momir Kolesar, Defence attorney for
5 Radomir Kovac, Your Honours. Thank you.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.
7 I'd like to find out from the accused,
8 Mr. Kunarac, can you hear the proceedings in a language
9 you understand?
10 THE ACCUSED KUNARAC: [Interpretation] Yes, I
11 can hear you and I can understand you.
12 JUDGE MUMBA: Mr. Kovac?
13 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] I can
14 hear and understand you. Thank you.
15 JUDGE MUMBA: We have an amended indictment,
16 which was confirmed, joining the two accused persons so
17 that they go to trial together. I know that the
18 scheduling order did indicate that the pleading would
19 be done by Kovac, but I realised later that since this
20 is the amended indictment upon which the trial will be
21 held, it would be best to ask Mr. Kunarac also to take
22 a fresh plea on all the counts.
23 I would like to ask Defence counsel, I'm sure
24 that you have explained the amended indictment to the
25 accused, and I expect that the accused will waive his
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1 right to have the whole indictment read through; is
2 that right, Mr. Prodanovic?
3 MR. PRODANOVIC: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
4 Honours. We took into account this possibility. Even
5 though the indictment has not been amended
6 significantly, we did foresee that there may be a new
7 repleading, and we have taken the position on it.
8 JUDGE MUMBA: I will ask Mr. Kunarac.
9 Mr. Kunarac, as you have heard from your counsel, there
10 is no significant amendment, but because this is a
11 confirmed amended indictment, I need to take the pleas
12 again. I just want to find out from you: There are
13 still 21 counts with the changes that I'm sure your
14 Defence counsel has explained to you. Do you maintain
15 your pleas of not guilty on all the 21 counts?
16 THE ACCUSED KUNARAC: [Interpretation] Yes,
17 Your Honours. I received a new amended indictment.
18 With respect to me, it is the same one, and I had
19 already pleaded and I still plead not guilty to all the
20 previously forwarded indictments.
21 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you very much. You may
22 sit down.
23 Mr. Kovac, we have an additional two counts,
24 but I would ask you to replead.
25 First of all, let me hear from your Defence
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1 counsel. Has the amended indictment been -- can you
2 sit down, Mr. Kovac, please?
3 Can Defence counsel explain whether the
4 amended indictment has been explained to the accused?
5 So that we don't need to go through all the details.
6 MR. KOLESAR: [Interpretation] Yes, Your
7 Honours, the indictment has been read to the accused,
8 and he has been explained what it regarded and all his
9 rights have been clarified to him. There is no need
10 for all the counts to be read out in the court.
11 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you very much.
12 Mr. Kovac, will you please stand up? On the
13 amended indictments, the counts relating to you are
14 from Counts 22 through to 25. So as your Defence
15 counsel has explained that the details have been
16 explained to you, I would just like you to replead and
17 take a plea on the fresh ones.
18 I want to ask you, how do you plead to Count
19 22?
20 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] Not
21 guilty.
22 JUDGE MUMBA: Count 23?
23 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] Not
24 guilty.
25 JUDGE MUMBA: Count 24?
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1 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] Not
2 guilty.
3 JUDGE MUMBA: And Count 25?
4 THE ACCUSED KOVAC: [Interpretation] Not
5 guilty.
6 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. You may sit down.
7 --- Whereupon the Initial Appearance
8 adjourned at 4.12 p.m. to be followed by
9 a Status Conference
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