Week ahead: Stankovic trial to end

Seven indictees who were transferred from The Hague and two indictees who were charged in Sarajevo willappear before the judges of the War Crimes Chamber next week.

The trial of Momcilo Mandic, the highest-ranking official in Radovan Karadzic’s government to be charged by the Bosnian prosecution to date, will begin on Monday.

Mandic is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed while he served as assistant internal affairs minister, and then justice minister, of the Bosnian Serb wartime government.

The beginning of presentation of evidence by the prosecution, which should last 17 work days, is scheduled for November 13.

Another status conference is scheduled for November 6 for Zeljko Mejakic,Momcilo Gruban, Dusan Fustar and Dusko Knezevic. All four are charged with crimes committed in the Omarska and Keraterm detention camps near Prijedor.

As the court previously announced,reading of the indictment and presentation of opening statements will take place on November 14, and the prosecution will start its evidence procedure on the 23rd of this month.

Decisions about the adoption of evidence established before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as issues regarding protection of witnesses, should be made during the status conference on Monday.

Mejakic, Gruban, Fustar and Knezevic are charged that from April 30, 1992 to the end ofthat year they forcefully detained and took civilians from the territory of Prijedor to Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje camps, in which they committed a crime against humanity.

The Bosnian prosecution has announced that it intends to question around 56 witnesses, which will take around 34 days.

The court has announced that another status conference before the trial of Pasko Ljubicic, former commander of 6th battalion of Military police of Croat defense council (HVO), will be held on Monday.

In mid-October, the prosecution asked for Ljubicic’s detention to be extended for another two months, because it was notable to adjust the indictment to local legislation.

Pasko Ljubicic was transferred from The Hague to Sarajevo on September 22.  The ICTY prosecution charged him that in 1993 he, jointly with members of his unit, took part in an attack on Vitez and surrounding villages. During this attack, more than a hundred Bosniak civilians were killed,many were detained and tortured, and their property was destroyed.  Two mosques were destroyed during the attack on Ahmici village.

Next week, on November 7, the defense of Radovan Stankovic will present its closing argument. The prosecution closed its case on October 27, when it asked the court to find the indictee guilty of crimes against humanity.

According to the existing law, the verdict should be announced within three days from the point when both sides presented their closing arguments.  This will be the seventh verdict announced before the War Crimes Chamber.

Stankovic is charged that from August to October 1992 on the territory of Miljevina, municipality Foca, he, as member of Miljevina battalion, took part in the taking of civilians to detention camps Motel in Miljevina, Buk Bijela,high school centre in Foca and sports hall Partizan.

He is also charged that he participated in the abuse of detained civilians as well as the rape and abuse of women,young women and girls who were detained in women’s camp, the so-called Karaman house.

Apart from its final phase, the Stankovic trial was closed for the public and the indictee has been refusing any contact with his defense, the prosecution or the court for months.

All witnesses who appeared had protective measures. Former inmates from Karaman house were among the witnesses.

Of the ten prosecution witnesses, three told the court that the indictee had raped them.

SFOR arrested Stankovic on July 9, 2002, after which he was transferred to The Hague and placed in custody. The case was forwarded to the Bosnian court at the beginning of September 2005, and the indictment was adjusted and confirmed by the court in December of last year.

Gojko Jankovic’s defence will continue to present evidence on Wednesday and Thursday, November 8 and 9, when another four witnesses will appear.

This is the second day of presentation of evidence by the defense. Seven witnesses testified in mid-October.  Four were supposed to give an alibi to Jankovic for July 3 and 4, 1992 when, according to the indictment, some of the crimes Jankovic is accused of took place.

According to the indictment, on July 3, 1992 Jankovic commanded a group of soldiers who carried out an attack on Kremenik village, near Foca, when some civilians were killed, another group was injured, and women and children were detained.

In the indictment it is also stated that at the end of October or beginning of November 1992, Jankovic and others took three inmates – including a 12-year-old – from the women’s camp known as Karaman’s house in Miljevina, took them to an apartment in Foca and raped them.

Three defense witnesses, who appeared as protected prosecution witnesses, spoke of Jankovic’s character and of the girls who were detained in a Foca house that was controlled by the indictee.

The trial of Nikola Andrun, former deputy warden of the Gabela detention camp which was formed and controlled by Croat defense council (HVO) during 1993,will continue next week, on November 6 and 7.

The defense started presenting its evidence by questioning the first witnesses. It hopes to disprove prosecution claims that Andrun had decision-making powers in the camp.