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1 Monday, 18 August 2003
2 [Initial Appearance]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 3.01 p.m.
6 JUDGE POCAR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
7 Madam Registrar, will you please call the case.
8 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Case number
9 IT-97-25/1-I, the Prosecutor versus Savo Todovic and Mitar Rasevic.
10 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you, Madam Registrar.
11 May I have the appearances for the Prosecution.
12 MR. SMITH: If Your Honours pleases, Bill Smith for the
13 Prosecution with David Leese as case manager. And Your Honour, for the
14 record, Ms. Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff will be the senior trial attorney
15 taking conduct in this matter.
16 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you.
17 For the Defence.
18 MR. LUKIC: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Branko Lukic for the
19 Defence, representing Mr. Rasevic today on his Initial Appearance.
20 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. We proceed with the Initial Appearance
21 of the accused, Mitar Rasevic, pursuant to Rule 62 of the Rules of
22 Procedure and Evidence.
23 Mr. Rasevic, can you hear the proceedings in a language that you
24 understand? Is the translation correct?
25 JUDGE POCAR: So we have a problem.
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1 May I repeat. Can you hear me now? Is that now okay? Can you
2 hear me? Still not.
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I'm not receiving any interpretation
4 in Serbian.
5 [Trial Chamber confers with registrar]
6 JUDGE POCAR: Can you hear me now?
7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I can hear it now.
8 JUDGE POCAR: So now I understand you can hear me correctly.
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes.
10 JUDGE POCAR: So, Mr. Rasevic, first I would like you to give your
11 full name for the record.
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] My name is Rasevic, Mitar.
13 JUDGE POCAR: Do you have any nickname, or is this the name always
14 used?
15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Just this name.
16 JUDGE POCAR: Now what is your date of birth?
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] 15th of November, 1949.
18 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. What is the address at which you resided
19 before you came into the custody of the Tribunal?
20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Stijepe Stanivice BB [phoen], Foca.
21 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you. Now, Mr. Rasevic, have you received the
22 indictment in a language that you understand, and did you have the chance
23 to read it?
24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour, I received the
25 indictment in the language I can understand, and I have read it.
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1 JUDGE POCAR: So do you understand its content?
2 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Your Honour, yes, I do.
3 JUDGE POCAR: Did you have the opportunity to discuss the
4 indictment with counsel and are you prepared to plead today, or do you
5 want to plead at a later stage?
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I would not like to
7 plead today. I would like to plead within 30 days, in relation to the
8 indictment and my plea.
9 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you, Mr. Rasevic. As you know, this -- as you
10 mentioned, this Initial Appearance, you have the right to plead guilty or
11 not guilty to each of the counts, or you can do it within 30 days from
12 this Initial Appearance. I understand you have chosen to do it at a later
13 stage and not today. Is that correct?
14 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour.
15 JUDGE POCAR: In any case, I think it should be opportune to have
16 the indictment read out to you today.
17 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] As far as I'm concerned, it is not
18 necessary because I've read it and I've understood it.
19 JUDGE POCAR: Okay. So you waive your right to have the
20 indictment read fully to you during this hearing?
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I do.
22 JUDGE POCAR: Okay. I thank you. So I take it that another
23 hearing will be held to allow you to plead, within 30 days from now. I
24 wish to tell you that shall you fail to enter a plea within this time
25 limit, the Trial Chamber shall enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf.
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1 This is what the Rules provide for. So in this situation, the Registrar
2 will be instructed to fix a date for another hearing to allow the accused
3 to plead guilty or not guilty. In the meantime, the accused is to remain
4 in custody, in the detention facilities here in The Hague, until further
5 order.
6 At this stage, is there any matter that the Prosecution wishes to
7 raise?
8 MR. SMITH: Nothing further, Your Honour, apart from the fact the
9 supporting material is available. And I've spoken to my learned friend,
10 who has asked that he not receive the material as his assignment at this
11 stage is an Initial Appearance assignment. And when such counsel is
12 assigned for a longer period, the material will be provided within that
13 30 days.
14 JUDGE POCAR: Okay. Thank you.
15 Is there any other matter that the Defence wishes to raise at this
16 stage?
17 MR. LUKIC: No, Your Honour, there is nothing on our side to raise
18 at this moment.
19 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you.
20 [Trial Chamber confers with registrar]
21 JUDGE POCAR: May I turn to Mr. Rasevic.
22 Mr. Rasevic, when you mentioned your date of birth, I'm just now
23 reminded, you mentioned 1949. The indictment is mentioning 1940. Which
24 is the correct date, just to clarify the point?
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I've seen that there is a mistake in
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1 the indictment, mentioning 1940. The exact date of birth is the 15th of
2 November, 1949.
3 JUDGE POCAR: Thank you, Mr. Rasevic.
4 So in the circumstances, if there is no other question to be dealt
5 with, I think that we can adjourn the proceedings until the next hearing
6 in which the accused will plead guilty or not guilty. The hearing is
7 adjourned.
8 --- Whereupon the Initial Appearance
9 adjourned at 3.14 p.m.
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