Trial Chamber Waiting for Evidence

Appellate Chamber Chairwoman Azra Miletic said that the Court would not decide on indictee’s guilt at the retrial, but only about the sentence pronounced against him. Also, the Trial Chamber decided that that evidence, which had been presented before, would not be presented again.

In October 2013 the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina quashed the second instance verdict against Andrun due to the wrong application of the criminal law. He was sentenced in accordance with the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In its decision the Constitutional Court of BiH said that his sentence could have been shorter had the Criminal Code of the former Yugoslavia been applied.

In August 2008 Andrun was sentenced, under the second instance verdict, to 18 years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population in Gabela detention camp, Capljina municipality. The former Deputy Manager of Gabela detention camp was sentenced for having participated in the murder, torture and inhumane treatment of detained civilians during 1993.

The Defence requested the Trial Chamber to include two new pieces of evidence in the case file. Those were reports on indictee’s conduct during the serving of his sentence in Foca and Mostar. The Chamber approved the request.

“We have received a report from Foca, but we still have not got a report from Mostar. Considering the fact that we have to wait for that report, this hearing is adjourned,” Miletic said.

At the beginning of the trial the Defence proposed that all pieces of evidence, which had been presented before, be presented again, but the Trial Chamber rejected the proposal. The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that it would stick to the same legal classification and the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina at this retrial.

In addition to this case, the execution of sentences against 12 other war crimes and genocide convicts was discontinued due to the wrong application of the law.

The trial is due to continue on January 24.