Mejakic and others: Status conference postponed

Once again, a status conference before the beginning of trial of Zeljko Mejakic, Momcilo Gruban, Dusan Fustar and Dusko Knezevic has been postponed before the War Crimes Chamber.

On May 9 of this year, all four accused were transferred from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague to the Bosnian court in Sarajevo.

The status conference has been postponed for a second time due to prosecutor Peter Kidd’s illness. During the last conference, the prosecution asked the court to state its position regarding the acceptance of facts already established before the ICTY – a request that the defence objected to.

In July, the Bosnian court confirmed the adjusted indictment against the four, who are charged with crimes committed in detention camps in Prijedor in 1992.

The prosecution believes that from April to the end of 1992, the four indictees committed a crime against humanity against Prijedor’s non-Serb population.

It is stated in the indictment that during that period more than 7,000 civilians were systematically detained in Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje detainment camps “as part of a wide and systematic attack … where they were held in inhumane conditions and subjected to heavy physical, psychological and sexual abuse”, and that many of them were murdered.

The prosecution believes that the indictees “directly participated in those abuses and expulsions” of non-Serbs. All four are accused of a “joint criminal act”.

The indictees surrendered during 2002 and 2003, after which they were transferred to the Scheveningen detention unit in the Hague.

Last year, the ICTY prosecution asked for the case to be transferred to Sarajevo justifying the request with the words that the acts with which the indictees are charged “are heavy enough to be tried before the ICTY”, but cannot be characterised as “so heavy that they must be tried” at the tribunal.

The next status conference is scheduled for November 29.