Page 261
1 Friday, 15 April 2005
2 [Further Initial Appearance]
3 [The accused entered court]
4 --- Upon commencing at 9.09 a.m.
5 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] I would like to wish everyone a
6 good day, and I would like the registrar to call the case, please.
7 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] IT-96-23/2-I, the Prosecutor
8 against Mr. Stankovic [as interpreted].
9 JUDGE EL MAHDI: I would like the appearances, please. The
10 Prosecution, please.
11 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honour, good morning. My name is
12 Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff. I appear today with my colleague Mr. Sachdeva,
13 and we are accompanied by the case manager Mr. Van Hooydonk.
14 I think there is something wrong in the transcript because this is
15 here the case against Mr. Gojko Jankovic and not Mr. Stankovic.
16 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Yes, you are right. It is
17 Mr. Jankovic this morning. The indictment concerned three accused in its
18 final draft. Mr. Stankovic has been removed from this case. There has
19 been an amended indictment drafted as far as he is concerned, and today we
20 shall be speaking about Mr. Jankovic. You are quite right. I didn't see
21 this on the transcript.
22 Registrar, could you please call the case again. The Prosecutor
23 versus Mr. Jankovic.
24 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Thank you, Judge El Mahdi. I
25 shall call the case for the transcript. It is the case Prosecutor versus
Page 262
1 Gojko Jankovic, IT-96-23/2-I. Thank you, Judge El Mahdi.
2 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. This was to
3 make sure everything was quite clear.
4 Mrs. Uertz-Retzlaff, is everything all right now?
5 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Yes, Your Honour.
6 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. Now the
7 Defence, please.
8 MR. LAZAREVIC: Good morning, Your Honour; good morning everyone.
9 My name is Aleksandar Lazarevic. I am Defence counsel for Mr. Jankovic in
10 this case.
11 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. You may sit
12 down.
13 Mr. Jankovic, can you hear me in a language that you understand?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes.
15 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Yes, indeed. I would like to ask
16 the Defence counsel whether he has had the opportunity to discuss these
17 matters with his client and whether Mr. Jankovic would like to hear the
18 entire indictment read out or should we just read out the counts of the
19 indictment?
20 MR. LAZAREVIC: Yes, Your Honour. I have discussed all the issues
21 related to the indictment with Mr. Jankovic on two occasions, and he is
22 ready to enter his plea today. He doesn't wish the whole indictment to be
23 read out but only the relevant parts, only the charges.
24 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much.
25 Mr. Jankovic, I have clearly understood that you have discussed
Page 263
1 these matters with your counsel. We shall, therefore, just explain the
2 counts to you this morning so that you are able to plead.
3 Before reading out the charges, I have the duty to tell you or to
4 give you the background against which this indictment is set.
5 Under item -- general allegations, the charge stipulates that at
6 all times relevant in the current indictment Bosnia-Herzegovina was the
7 theatre of an international [as interpreted] conflict, and at all times
8 relevant to the indictment the accused had to abide by the laws and
9 customs of war, that unless otherwise stipulated, all acts and omissions
10 quoted in the indictment took place between April 1992 and February of
11 1993, that each count in the indictment relating against crimes against
12 humanity sanctioned for Article 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, acts or
13 omissions included in a general offensive on a large scale or systematic
14 against a civilian population, i.e., the Muslim population in the
15 municipality of Foca.
16 After that you are held individually responsible for the crimes
17 which are alleged against you. Also that pursuant to Article 7(3) of the
18 Tribunal in your capacity as a superior you're alternatively criminally
19 responsible for the acts of your subordinates, and this relates to the
20 counts 1 to 4. In other words, the facts and omissions alleged.
21 Allegedly committed at Buk Bijela.
22 That said, I would like the registrar to kindly read out the
23 counts 1 to 4 contained in the indictment.
24 THE REGISTRAR: [Interpretation] Thank you, Judge.
25 Count 1, torture, a crime against humanity, punishable under
Page 264
1 Article 5(f) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
2 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm not guilty.
4 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] I would like to stipulate that
5 these are alleged facts, and these acts have been allegedly committed in
6 Buk Bijela because there are several locations or areas for which you are
7 accused for having acted or omitted to act. So as regards the first four
8 counts, these are facts or alleged omissions that were committed in
9 Buk Bijela.
10 Would you resume the reading, please, Mr. Registrar.
11 THE REGISTRAR: Count 2, rape, a crime against humanity punishable
12 under Article 5(g) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
13 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Mr. Jankovic, how do you plead?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Your Honour, not guilty. The
15 persons mentioned in my indictment are persons that I never had anything
16 at all to do with, not before the war, not during the war, not after the
17 war. We were never a single unit. They were never my army, and last but
18 not least they were not under my command.
19 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] I understand full well that you
20 wish to defend yourself, but this hearing is a formal hearing, and you
21 will be only confronted with the indictment so that you may plead either
22 guilty or not guilty, and you will have ample time to defend your case
23 afterwards.
24 Shall we now move on to count number 3, please, Mr. Registrar.
25 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... torture.
Page 265
1 Torture, a violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under
2 Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal and recognised by Common Article
3 3(1)(a), torture, of the Geneva Conventions.
4 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.
6 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Mr. Registrar, could we move on
7 to count number 4, please.
8 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... rape. Rape,
9 a violation of the laws or customs of war, punishable under Article 3 of
10 the Statute of the Tribunal.
11 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
13 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you.
14 We shall now move on to the alleged facts having been committed in
15 the secondary school at Foca relating to counts 25, 26, 27, and 28.
16 Mr. Registrar, could you help us here please.
17 THE REGISTRAR: Count 25, Torture. Torture, a crime against
18 humanity punishable under Article 5(f) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
19 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
21 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Registrar.
22 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... rape. Rape,
23 a crime against humanity punishable under Article 5(g) of the Statute of
24 the Tribunal.
25 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
Page 266
1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
2 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... torture.
3 Torture a violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under
4 Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal and recognised by Common
5 Article 3(1)(a), torture, of the Geneva Conventions.
6 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
8 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Registrar,
9 please.
10 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... rape. Rape,
11 a violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under Article 3 of
12 the Statute of the Tribunal.
13 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead Mr. Jankovic?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
15 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Jankovic.
16 We shall now move on to the alleged acts and omissions having been
17 committed at the Partizan Sports Hall. These relate to counts 37, 38, 39,
18 and 40.
19 Mr. Registrar, could you help us here, please.
20 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... torture, a
21 crime against humanity punishable under Article 5(f) of the Statute of the
22 Tribunal.
23 JUDGE EL MAHDI: How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
25 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Registrar,
Page 267
1 please.
2 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... Rape, a crime
3 against humanity punishable under Article 5(g) of the Statute of the
4 Tribunal.
5 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
7 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Registrar,
8 please.
9 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... torture, a
10 violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under Article 3 of the
11 Statute of the Tribunal and recognised by Common Article 3(1)(a), torture,
12 of the Geneva Conventions.
13 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.
15 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. Mr. Registrar,
16 please.
17 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... rape, a
18 violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under Article 3 of the
19 Statute of the Tribunal.
20 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Your Honour, not guilty.
22 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you.
23 We shall now move on to another location which is a flat located
24 close to the fish shop [as interpreted] in Foca. This took place around
25 the 30th of October, 1992.
Page 268
1 Mr. Registrar, would you kindly read out the counts 49 and 50,
2 please.
3 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continued] ... rape. Rape,
4 a crime against humanity punishable under Article 5(g) of the Statute of
5 the Tribunal.
6 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
8 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you, Mr. Jankovic.
9 Mr. Registrar, please.
10 THE REGISTRAR: [Previous translation continues] ... rape. Rape,
11 a violation of the laws or customs of war punishable under Article 3 of
12 the Statute of the Tribunal.
13 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] How do you plead, Mr. Jankovic?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
15 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you. You may sit down.
16 I believe we have met the requirements as they are stipulated in
17 Article -- Rule 62 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. I would like
18 Mr. Registrar to set a date for the next hearing in this case, and I would
19 like the parties, whether they have any issue they would like to raise at
20 this stage of the proceedings.
21 The Prosecution.
22 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Your Honour, just one small matter in
23 relation to the transcript, while the registrar actually always read out
24 the number of the count, it's missing in the transcript. I don't know for
25 what reason. But it just needs to be clearly stated that the number was
Page 269
1 always read out.
2 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Yes. That said, is it a
3 particular number that was not written in here or are you talking about
4 all the counts and count numbers?
5 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Most of the time the count numbers that were
6 actually read out were missing. When you mentioned them they are in the
7 transcript, but when the registrar read out as mentioned here it's often
8 missing.
9 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much. I can
10 confirm that as regards the transcripts, all counts have been read out and
11 that Mr. Jankovic, in respect to each of these counts, stated that he was
12 not guilty.
13 I can repeat the count numbers, counts ranging from 1 to 4, after
14 which we have counts 25, 26, 27, and 28, and we have counts 37, 38, 39,
15 40, and lastly counts 49 and 50. For each count, Mr. Jankovic, after
16 having read these counts, stated that he was not guilty. I think it is
17 quite clear now, isn't it? What do you think?
18 MS. UERTZ-RETZLAFF: Yes, Your Honour. And nothing else is ...
19 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much for the
20 relevant comment you made.
21 The Defence, do you have any issue you would like to raise?
22 MR. LAZAREVIC: [Previous translation continues] ... raise any
23 issue. We have nothing else.
24 JUDGE EL MAHDI: [Interpretation] Thank you very much,
25 Mr. Lazarevic.
Page 270
1 Before adjourning this hearing, I would like to repeat what is
2 contained in the indictment as regards the forced -- the first four
3 counts. You are held responsible on an individual basis and also on the
4 basis of your position, i.e., that you were the superior of your
5 subordinates.
6 That said, the hearing is adjourned.
7 --- Whereupon the Further Initial Appearance
8 adjourned at 9.29 a.m.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25