080721IA

Page 19

1 Monday, 21 July 2008

2 [Further Initial Appearance]

3 [Open session]

4 [The accused entered court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 3.00 p.m.

6 JUDGE STOLE: Good afternoon, everyone.

7 Madam Registrar, could you call the case, please.

8 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honours. Good afternoon to

9 everyone in the courtroom. This is case number IT-99-36/2-I, the

10 Prosecutor versus Stojan Zupljanin.

11 JUDGE STOLE: So this is the Further Initial Appearance of

12 Stojan Zupljanin pursuant to Rule 62 of the Rules.

13 At the initial appearance held on 23 June, 2008, the accused,

14 Stojan Zupljanin, decided to avail himself of the right to enter a plea

15 of guilty or not guilty within 30 days of his Initial Appearance. The

16 30-day time limit is about to expire, and the accused has the opportunity

17 to enter a plea at today's sitting.

18 But first, Mr. Zupljanin, can you hear the proceedings in a

19 language that you understand?

20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I can hear, Mr. Stole, yes.

21 JUDGE STOLE: May I have the appearances for the Prosecution,

22 please.

23 MS. RICHTEROVA: Good afternoon. My name is Anna Richterova, and

24 I'm accompanied by Karen Beausey and case manager Crispian Smith.

25 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you. And for the Defence for Mr. Zupljanin?

Page 20

1 MR. VISNJIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon. I am

2 Tomislav Visnjic, attorney-at-law, and I'm going to be representing

3 Mr. Zupljanin today.

4 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

5 I shall recall from the Initial Appearance that you,

6 Mr. Zupljanin, are the only accused in the indictment with case

7 number IT-99-36-I, confirmed by Judge Rodrigues on 17 December, 1999, and

8 made public on 13 July, 2001. This indictment was afterwards amended

9 under Second Amended Indictment in 6th October 2004 is the operative

10 indictment in the present case.

11 I will now proceed with the procedural part of the Further

12 Initial Appearance of the accused, Mr. Zupljanin, pursuant to Rule 62 of

13 the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal.

14 First, Mr. Zupljanin, have you received the indictment in your

15 own language?

16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I have.

17 JUDGE STOLE: Have you read the indictment and understood its

18 contents?

19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I have read it and understood

20 the contents.

21 JUDGE STOLE: As mentioned also the last time, you have a right

22 to have the indictment read out in full. As also mentioned the last

23 time, you can waive that right and state that the summary provided to you

24 already is sufficient.

25 In this case, we will proceed with the charges against you.

Page 21

1 Do you wish to have the indictment read out in full or do you

2 waive this right?

3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Stole, on this occasion I wish

4 to say, and I will continue saying this throughout the proceedings, that

5 I am truly unhappy that the war ever came to the territory of Bosnia and

6 Herzegovina. Had I been able to prevent it, there would have been no

7 war, for certain.

8 It is necessary for all of us to learn a lesson once again, aware

9 of the fact that we can and need to live with each other as human beings,

10 without desire for revenge or ambitions for domination; and I will be

11 happy if my sacrifice is the last sacrifice in that territory.

12 Could more have been done --

13 JUDGE STOLE: Mr. Zupljanin, the question was now if you wanted

14 to have the indictment read out in full or if you waive that right, and

15 then we will proceed to the charges.

16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] In essence, Mr. Stole, I truly want

17 the entire proceedings to be carried out for historic truth and

18 re-establishment of trust, and I wish to say that I'm not guilty and

19 there is no need to read out the text that you wanted us to read.

20 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

21 The next step of this appearance is, then, that I will ask you if

22 you are ready to enter a plea or to plead to all or any of the counts of

23 the indictment brought against you. And the first possibility is then

24 for you to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to each of the 12 counts

25 you are charged with in the indictment. And if you desire not to enter a

Page 22

1 plea to these counts, I shall enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf.

2 Are you prepared, Mr. Zupljanin, to enter a plea to the charges

3 against you, and can we proceed to that now?

4 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I am prepared, Mr. Stole, and I

5 hereby state that I'm not guilty with respect to all counts of

6 indictment.

7 JUDGE STOLE: I understand that we have to do this in more

8 detail. That's the procedure of the Rules.

9 In relation to each charge, I will ask you, how do you plead to

10 that charge, guilty or not guilty, and your answer in each case should

11 be, "Guilty," or, "Not guilty," as the case may be.

12 You should bear in mind that you are charged with both

13 Article 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal and Article 7(3), of the

14 Statutes, command responsibility for all counts.

15 Mr. Zupljanin, will you please stand up.

16 The first count you are charged is a charge of persecutions on

17 political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity,

18 punishable under Article 5(H) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you

19 plead, guilty or not guilty?

20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

21 JUDGE STOLE: The second count you are charged with is the charge

22 of extermination, a crime against humanity, punishable under Article 5(B)

23 of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

24 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

25 JUDGE STOLE: The third count with which you are charged is a

Page 23

1 charge of murder, a crime against humanity, punishable under Article 5(A)

2 of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

4 JUDGE STOLE: The fourth count with which you are charged is the

5 charge of murder in violation of the laws of customs of war, punishable

6 under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty

7 or not guilty?

8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

9 JUDGE STOLE: The fifth count with which you are charged is a

10 charge of torture, a crime against humanity, punishable under

11 Article 5(F) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty or

12 not guilty?

13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

14 JUDGE STOLE: The sixth count with which you are charged is the

15 charge of torture, a violation of the Laws or Customs of War, punishable

16 under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty

17 or not guilty?

18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

19 JUDGE STOLE: The seventh count with which you are charged is a

20 charge of cruel treatment, a violation of the Laws and Customs of War,

21 punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you

22 plead, guilty or not guilty?

23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

24 JUDGE STOLE: The eighth count with which you are charged is the

25 charge of inhumane acts, a crime against humanity, punishable under

Page 24

1 Article 5(I) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty or

2 not guilty?

3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

4 JUDGE STOLE: The ninth count with which you are charged is a

5 charge of deportation, a crime against humanity, punishable under

6 Article 5(D) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you plead, guilty or

7 not guilty?

8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

9 JUDGE STOLE: The 10th charge with which you are charged is the

10 charge of inhumane acts, forcible transfer, a crime against humanity,

11 punishable under Article 5(I) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How do you

12 plead, guilty or not guilty?

13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

14 JUDGE STOLE: The 11th count with which you are charged is a

15 charge of wanton destruction or devastation of towns or villages not

16 justified by military necessity, a violation of the Laws or Customs of

17 War, punishable under Article 3(B) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How

18 do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

20 JUDGE STOLE: And the 12th and last count with which you are

21 charged is the charge of destruction or willful damage done to

22 institutions dedicated to religion, a violation of the Laws or Customs of

23 War, punishable under Article 3(D) of the Statute of the Tribunal. How

24 do you plead, guilty or not guilty?

25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I plead not guilty.

Page 25

1 JUDGE STOLE: I would like to ask the Registrar to note that

2 Mr. Zupljanin has pleaded not guilty to all counts of the indictment.

3 I would also like to inform you, Mr. Zupljanin, that according to

4 Rule 62 bis of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, you may charge your

5 plea of not guilty to a guilty plea in relation to some or all counts at

6 a later stage. I just inform you of that right.

7 Mr. Zupljanin, you may sit down, please.

8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you.

9 JUDGE STOLE: As regard the further proceedings, the Registrar

10 will at a point set a date for trial. A status conference will be

11 scheduled within 120 days of this appearance, and the purpose of the

12 status conference is two-fold.

13 First, it is to organise exchanges between the parties and

14 facilitate expeditious preparation for trial.

15 Second, the Pre-Trial Judge will have an opportunity to see you

16 in person to ensure that you are being treated well and to be made aware

17 of any complaints or requests that you may have. You will be informed of

18 the exact date of the status conference in due course.

19 At the Initial Appearance, the Prosecutor undertook, in

20 accordance with Rule 66(A)(i) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence to

21 make available to the permanent defence counsel for the accused the

22 supporting material which accompanied the indictment, has the Prosecution

23 done so?

24 MS. RICHTEROVA: Yes, Your Honour, the Prosecution has disclosed

25 the supporting material. However, we did not disclose one statement

Page 26

1 because of a witness who has been granted protective measure of delayed

2 disclosure in previous proceedings, and on 10th of July, 2008, the

3 Prosecution filed a motion for protective measures for victims and

4 witnesses and notification of protective measures in force, in which the

5 name of the witness is mentioned in ex parte.

6 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

7 And the Defence counsel, I take it, can confirm what has just

8 been stated, and you will perhaps also confirm that you will be

9 commenting on this motion in due time.

10 MR. VISNJIC: [Interpretation] That's correct, Your Honour. I

11 hereby confirm that disclosure was partially carried out pursuant to

12 Rule 66; and I also confirm that we will also submit our response to the

13 Prosecution motions for provisional measures and the other one for the

14 joinder, and later on would you please give me the opportunity to address

15 you again on that same issue?

16 JUDGE STOLE: Yes. Thank you.

17 In fact, that is now the -- or there is one more thing, but I

18 know that Mr. Visnjic is an experienced counsel, and I do not have to

19 enlighten him on the Rules of Procedure of this Tribunal, here under

20 Rule 72(A) and the 30-day period for filing preliminary motions, once you

21 have received the supporting material.

22 Is there, then, at this stage any matter that the Prosecution

23 wishes to raise?

24 MS. RICHTEROVA: Thank you, Your Honour. There is nothing which

25 we would like to raise at this stage.

Page 27

1 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

2 And Mr. Visnjic?

3 MR. VISNJIC: [Interpretation] Thank you, Your Honour.

4 I wanted to address you pursuant to the deadline under Rule 72(A)

5 for preliminary motions concerning the indictment.

6 As you are well aware, on the 15th of July, 2008, the Prosecution

7 filed a motion to join the two cases, Stanisic and Zupljanin, and at the

8 same time they asked for leave to amend the indictment. I hereby express

9 an oral motion to extend the deadline for Mr. Zupljanin for preliminary

10 motions concerning the indictment, in view of the possible rulings of the

11 Trial Chamber.

12 Should the cases Zupljanin and Stanisic not be joined, we would

13 ask for a deadline of 30 days under Rule 72(A) to start running from the

14 date of the ruling on the joinder motion or from the date of the

15 disclosure of the entire supportive material, unless the Prosecution

16 completes this prior to the issuance of the Court ruling.

17 Should the cases Zupljanin and Stanisic be joined, we would ask

18 for a deadline of 30 days from the moment of completion of entire

19 supporting material for the new indictment, disclosure of that material,

20 since we support that this new indictment would have a somewhat different

21 supporting material than the existing one.

22 If we were to uphold the current deadline, in view of the current

23 indictment against Mr. Zupljanin, we would come into a difficult

24 situation where the Court would be acting on the basis of one indictment

25 and, in the meantime, a ruling on the amended indictment would be passed,

Page 28

1 which would put Mr. Zupljanin into a legally insufficiently-defined

2 situation where it would not be clear to him against which indictment he

3 needs to defend himself. Therefore, I hereby request that the Trial

4 Chamber grant us a different or a new deadline for our response under

5 Rule 72(A), in line with what I have just said.

6 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

7 The Prosecution want to comment on these observations by the

8 Defence?

9 MS. RICHTEROVA: Your Honour, we do not object, and we consider

10 it a reasonable amount of time for the response.

11 Moreover, in our motion, in the part 6 relief sought, we propose

12 that the lead counsel file his initial submission after the motion

13 according to Rule 92 bis -- sorry, according to 72 is decided or has been

14 decided.

15 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

16 So the parties seem to be, then, in agreement about this, that

17 this seems to be the sensible thing to do under the circumstances; and on

18 that basis this oral motion will be granted. I don't know if this is

19 sufficient to just state for the record here and now. If there would be

20 any need to later clarify this in writing, we will do so; but as I said,

21 this motion will then be granted for the extension of time, as requested

22 by the Defence for Mr. Zupljanin.

23 Is there, then, anything else we have to deal with at this point

24 in time?

25 Not from the Prosecution, I take it.

Page 29

1 MS. RICHTEROVA: No, there is nothing. Thank you.

2 JUDGE STOLE: And from the Defence?

3 MR. VISNJIC: Not for the time being.

4 JUDGE STOLE: Thank you.

5 Is there any matter that the accused wishes to raise at this

6 stage?

7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Mr. Stole, I just wanted to say two

8 sentences, if I may.

9 When it comes to my Defence team, for a while I considered

10 defending myself, but in the meantime I have decided to appoint

11 Mr. Visnjic as my counsel. However, I wish to add that I want to

12 participate actively in my Defence, and I will inform you on the mode of

13 my participation once I complete my Defence team.

14 I also wish to congratulate my son, Mladen, and wish him a happy

15 birthday, and also to my other son whose birthday was on Friday, and I

16 didn't have an opportunity to wish him a happy birthday. My other son's

17 name is Pavle.

18 I also would like to ask that I be given a computer by the

19 Detention Unit. I expect that I will need a computer fairly soon, and I

20 submitted a timely request. Therefore, I ask that you put in a plea on

21 my behalf to have this resolved as speedily as possible.

22 JUDGE STOLE: As for the request for a computer, I suggest that

23 you take this with your counsel and with the Detention Unit. That would

24 be the way to go about for the thing you raised there.

25 And, of course, for what role you will wish to take with counsel,

Page 30

1 assisted by counsel, would be to a certain extent, at least, for the two

2 of you to confer or to consult about, to a certain extent.

3 I leave it at that for now, and as there is no other business at

4 this time, these proceedings are adjourned. Thank you.

5 --- Whereupon the Further Initial Appearance

6 adjourned at 3.25 p.m.