Tanaskovic: Appellate Chamber session postponed

The hearing, at which the Defence of Nenad Tanaskovic was supposed to justify its first instance verdict appeal before the Appellate Chamber, has been postponed until Wednesday, March 26. The hearing was postponed because Defence attorney Radmila Radosavljevic failed to appear. As indicated, she “was not informed in time” about the Appellate Chamber session.

“We have received a letter indicating that Radmila Radosavljevic was informed about the Appellate Chamber session only on Tuesday, March 11. In that letter she asked if the session could be postponed as she was not able to attend. I must stress that we do not know when Radosavljevic received the invitation, as we have did not get a return receipt, but we have decided to postpone the session until Wednesday, March 26,” Appellate Chamber Chairman Davorin Vukoje said.

In August 2007 the Court of BiH sentenced Nenad Tanaskovic to 12 years imprisonment, because he participated, as member of the Public Safety Centre in Visegrad, in the captivation, torture, forcible deportation, rape, destruction of property and prosecution of Bosniaks.

Bajro Cilic, Tanaskovic’s additional attorney, who was appointed only recently, informed the Appellate Chamber about “the inadequate medical treatment” of the indictee in the Correctional Facility in Eastern Sarajevo and he asked for a medical examination for the indictee.

“I am shocked by the fact that my client has not had any medical examinations in the Kula Facility for 40 days. I think this is inadmissible. I contacted Dr Ratko Radovic and I ask you to call him and ask him to form a medical team, which will examine my client and inform the Court about the indictee’s state of health,” Cilic said.

Indictee Tanaskovic addressed the Appellate Chamber by saying that he was severely sick and that he needed to undergo medical treatment.

“I was wounded in 1992. I had been operated on 14 times while I was in the hospital in Belgrade. I must say that I do not have a lower jaw. I cannot chew food, but I have to swallow it. My bones are weakening, and my condition is worsening day by day and I am also in pain,” Tanaskovic said.

The Appellate Chamber will consider the Defence’s proposal and announce its decision at a later stage.

Tanaskovic was arrested in July 2006. He has been held in custody since then. His trial commenced in February 2007.