
07 October 2008 At the trial for the massacre in Kapija in Tuzla, the Trial Chamber says that it had still not rendered a decision concerning the custody termination motion filed by the Defence of Novak Djukic.
The Trial Chamber has still not rendered a decision concerning the
custody termination motion, filed by the Defence of Novak Djukic, in which the
Defence called on the Court to release him on bail.
"The Court is undertaking the appropriate checking. We shall render our
decision once the checking has been completed," Trial Chamber Chairman Darko
Samardzic said.
The State Prosecution considers that Djukic ordered the shelling of Tuzla
on May 25, 1995, when 71 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded. In
early September Djukic requested the Court to let him defend himself while at
liberty, offering his apartment and a friend's apartment as a guarantee that he
would appear at the court.
The former commander of the Ozren Tactical Group with the Republika
Srpska Army, VRS, was arrested in early November 2007. He has been held under
custody since then.
At the hearing held on October 7 the Prosecution intended to examine
medical expert Vedo Tuco, who was supposed to speak about the cause of death and
types of injuries found on the bodies of the victims, whose names are mentioned
in the indictment.
"Considering the largeness and complexity of this case, the time, which
has been made available to me, is extremely short. I would need a month or two
to complete the task properly, in line with the technical and scientific
standards," Tuco said.
The Trial Chamber proposed to the Prosecution and Defence to agree on the
number of victims, whose cause of death is "not disputable", on the basis of the
previous testimonies. This would reduce the number of documents to be considered
by the court expert prior to making his findings.
It
was also planned to present the Prosecution material evidence at this hearing
but the presentation has been postponed until October 20. The Trial Chamber
proposed to the two parties to "agree on which pieces of evidence can be
considered disputable and non-disputable" in order to reduce the time needed for
presentation of evidence.
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.
Read more

An OSCE report on Witness Protection and Support in War-Crimes Cases says, among other things, that Bosnia and Herzegovina has neither improved the position of victims and witnesses nor has it won their confidence in criminal proceedings and war-crimes cases.
Komentari:
Nema komentara.