Karadzic: Incidents Removal Motion Rejected

Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska, requested The Hague Tribunal to remove, from his indictment, four shelling and six sniping incidents targeting civilians in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 1992 to 1995, but the Hague Tribunal Chamber rejected his motion.

Judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY at The Hague said that, in his motion Karadzic failed to explain why the reduction of the indictment against Ratko Mladic would automatically mean that his indictment should be revised as well.

“The Chamber cannot see how the reduction of the indictment in Mladic’s case would result in the violation of indictee Karadzic’s rights. The Prosecution has already presented most pieces of evidence related to Sarajevo. Indictee Karadzic will have an opportunity to deny the evidence by presenting Defence’s evidence,” The Hague Tribunal’s decision says.

In addition, The Hague Tribunal’s decision says that, although The Hague Tribunal’s Chamber is aware of the Prosecution’s stand that Mladic’s alleged guilt can be proved through the remaining incidents in the indictment, this should not influence Karadzic’s case.

“Firstly, there is no rule saying that certain counts should be removed from an indictment only because they were removed from indictments in other cases. Besides that, it is important to point out that, although Mladic’s case overlaps with Karadzic’s case to a considerable extent, there are still significant differences between them, like the fact that the two indictees had different functions during the course of the war,” The Hague Tribunal’s decision says.

Radovan Karadzic, former President of Republika Srpska and supreme Commander of its armed forces, is charged with genocide, violation of the laws and customs of war and a shelling and sniping campaign conducted in Sarajevo. His trial began in October 2009.

Mladic, former Chief of the Main Headquarters of the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, is currently awaiting his trial before The Hague Tribunal to begin. He is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws and customs of war committed in the period from 1992 to 1995.

On November 18 last year The Hague Prosecution removed from the indictment against Mladic six sniping and eight shelling incidents, which were originally included in the indictment. After the removal of those incidents, Karadzic requested the Tribunal to remove those same incidents from the indictment against him.

Among the incidents, which Karadzic wants to be removed from his indictment, was a shelling incident of July 12, 1993, when, as alleged under the indictment, a mine-thrower grenade was fired at approximately 100 civilians, who were queuing for water in a courtyard of a residential building in Dobrinja. The Hague Prosecution alleges that the grenade killed 13 and wounded 14 people. D.Dž.