Hague Prosecutor: Complex Karadzic case
30 July 2008 The Hague Prosecution announces that Radovan
Karadzic's trial will be "a complex one" adding that his arrest is important in
order to achieve justice.
Speaking at a press
conference Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Prosecution, said that
the fact that Radovan Karadzic was arrested was "immensely important for the
victims," adding that the indictment against him, which was last checked in
2000, was still under revision.
"The arrest of Radovan Karadzic is of
great importance to the victims, who had to wait for too long for this day.
It is also important for international
justice because it clearly demonstrates that there is no alternative to the
arrest of war criminals and that there can be no safe haven for
fugitives," Brammertz said.
Radovan Karadzic, the former President of
Republika Srpska, was arrested in Belgrade on July 21, 2008, after having been
on the run for 13 years. He is charged with having participated in genocide,
crimes against humanity and the violation of laws and practices of warfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Chief ICTY Prosecutor said that the
Prosecution was considering amending the indictment in order to "fulfill the
court practice", adding that it was still "premature to speak" about the start of the trial.
"Do not expect this trial to be a short one,
but we shall do our best to make it efficient. The Prosecution will have to
present many pieces of evidence, which have been collected up to now. It is
still too early to say when the trial might start but it will not be in less
than a few months from now," Brammertz said.
The Hague indictee Karadzic
is due to make his initial appearance before judge Alphons Ori at 16.00 on
Thursday, July 31.
As indicated by Brammertz, the Prosecution might
consider merging the indictments against Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, "in case
he is arrested in the near future."
Mladic, former commander of the
General Staffs with the Republika Srpska Army, is charged with crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has been on the run since 1995.
At
the end of the press conference Brammertz said that the Serbian authorities
deserved "full credit" for the apprehension of Karadzic, adding that he hoped
that the two remaining fugitives - Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, charged with
crimes in Croatia, would be arrested soon.
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
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Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
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