veličina fonta

verzija za štampu

copyright

pošalji komentar

Search for Stankovic Continues

Stankovic

28 May 2007  Although it is believed that Radovan Stankovic has left BiH, an international warrant has still not been issued.

An international warrant for escaped war crimes convict Radovan Stankovic has still not been issued following his escape from the prison in Foca on 25 May. Interpol BiH claims that such warrants can be issued on the basis of an order given by the prison from which the runaway escaped.

Justice Report has discovered that there is only a warrant for search within BiH, which was issued on the basis of an order by the management of the Foca prison.

At present, there is confusion about which agency has responsibility for issuing an order for an international warrant. Representatives of the Court of BiH claim that the order should come from the Ministry of Justice.

"If he is not found in a certain period of time, the Ministry of Justice should issue an international warrant," says Manuela Hodzic, PR of the Court of BiH.

But Marina Brkic, Hodzic's counterpart at the state justice ministry, claims that the international warrant should be issued by the "entity Ministry of Justice", in this case the ministry in the Republika Srpska as the Foca prison is under its jurisdiction, but this should be done only if the local police does not get hold of the runaway "in a certain period of time". No precise information about the period in question has been given.

According to media statements given by various police officials in BiH, it is believed that Stankovic crossed the Serbian border a short time after his escape.

The clues about his escape outside of BiH have been confirmed to Justice Report by Tamara Despenic, PR of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska.

"Our latest information is that he is outside BiH, but all I can say for sure is that the search is ongoing," said Despenic.

Stankovic was sentenced by the War Crimes Chamber of the BiH Court to 20 years imprisonment for crimes committed in Foca during 1992.

According to information available to the media, Stankovic escaped from a vehicle in which he was being transported, escorted by nine guards, to a local hospital for a medical examination. Management of the Foca prison as issued a statement saying that all guards who were with Stankovic are under investigation and that all of them have been suspended.

In the meantime, officials from the State Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA), the Prosecution and Court of BiH held a meeting in Sarajevo to discuss the measures that should be undertaken "to get hold of all relevant facts" which might help in finding Stankovic.

During the meeting held in Sarajevo on 28 May, it was agreed that SIPA staff, organised in an "operational team" under the supervision of the Prosecution of BiH, would perform some "investigative activities in order to implement the conclusions of the meeting".

Vedrana Dimitrijevic, PR of EUPM in BiH, told Justice Report that officials from this organisation are in constant contact with the local police, but they would not take part in the investigation and search "because it is not a part of our mandate".

"We supervise their work and the measures they undertake. We can say that the mission welcomes the coordination which has been established between various police services from the very beginning," said Dimitrijevic.

The Court of BiH has announced that President Meddzida Kreso will speak to the media concerning the search for Stankovic on 29 May.

In 1996 the Prosecution in the Hague filed an indictment against Stankovic and issued a warrant for his arrest. He was on the run until 2002, when he was arrested by SFOR in BiH.