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OHR negotiates return of documents

23 July 2008  The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina considers the possibility of returning travel documents to the Karadzic family, which would enable them to visit Radovan Karadzic.

Following a public call for the return of personal documents to the Karadzic family, the Office of the High Representative, OHR, opened negotiations with its "international and local partners".

Ljiljana Radetic, PR of the OHR, confirmed this to Justice Report, adding that she could not provide any further details concerning lifting of measures imposed on the family of ICTY indictee Radovan Karadzic.

High Representative Miroslav Lajcak issued a decision on January 10 this year, ordering the seizure of travel documents from wife Ljiljana Zelen-Karadzic, son Aleksandar, daughter Sonja Karadzic-Jovicevic and son-in-law Branislav Jovicevic, on the basis of a suspicion that they were members of Radovan Karadzic's support network.

Following the seizure, they were given so-called additional identity cards, which they can use within Bosnia only.

Following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic in Belgrade on July 21, 2008, his family members, who live in Pale, near Sarajevo, asked the High Representative to return their documents to them, so that they could visit him while he was still in Serbia.

"My mother's health state is not so good. This is one of the reasons for which we asked for a permission to visit our dad in Belgrade. We cannot travel to The Hague, so we must visit him now, as I do not believe that we shall have any other opportunity to see him again," Sonja Karadzic-Jovicevic told Justice Report.

About a month ago the High Representative issued a decision, ordering return of personal documents, travel documents and identification cards to Stojan Zupljanin's family members. Zupljanin was arrested in Serbia on June 11, 2008, after having been on the run for nine years.

The Hague Tribunal charges Zupljanin with having committed crime against humanity and violation of laws and practices of warfare in Krajina area and planned the persecution, "which escalated into genocide".

As per an announcement issued by the OHR on July 9, 2008, the decision was made on the basis of consultations with The Hague Tribunal and "other relevant international and local partners, involved in security and law enforcement activities".

Besides the Karadzic family members, Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, publicly asked the OHR to return the documents to the family members. He said that, now that Karadzic has been arrested, there is no more reason to prevent his family members from traveling outside Bosnia.

On this occasion Dodik publicly promised help to Karadzic's family members, adding that this was "a priority for the Government of Republika Srpska".

As per the Law on Cooperation of Republika Srpska with the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague, the RS Government will pass a special provision, "which will regulate the issue of financial support to the RS citizens, who are held in detention in The Hague, as well as their family members."