Karadzic Wants to Establish Contacts with Media

Radovan Karadzic, who is currently being held in the Detention Unit of the Hague Tribunal, complained about a decision made by the Hague Registrar, which prohibited him from contacting a journalist of the Revu newspaper from the Netherlands.

In his complaint, Karadzic referred to freedom of speech, guaranteed by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and European Convention on Human Rights,as well as a number of decisions, allowing detainees and prisoners to establish contacts with the media. Most of those decisions were made in the United States.

Nerma Jelacic, spokesperson for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, told Justice Report that the Registry decision was made in accordance with Tribunal rules.

“Under the rules it is forbidden for any journalist to enter the detention unit,and we never ever had one inside, domestic or international. While in detention indictees are forbidden to have contacts with the media”, said Jelacic.

In late October and then again on November 7, Karadzic asked the Tribunal to let him get in touch with journalist Zvezdana Vukojevic, who asked for an interview with him, to be published in the newspaper for which she currently works.

As indicated in his letter, Karadzic agreed to give an interview, as this would enable him to present his side of the truth. In his original request, filed with the Registrar, he said that the media had “demonised” him for years, claiming that this had actually been done by the Hague Prosecutor.

“I particularly noticed that the Prosecutor, the US State Department and former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke often publicly denied the existence of an agreement, by which I would not be processed before the ICTY. I think it would be fair to let me respond in the same manner,” Karadzic said.

The Registrar rendered a decision on November 10, rejecting his request. The mentioned decision indicated that, one of the reasons for rejecting the request, was the fact that, if such contacts were allowed, there may be a possibility of “disclosing details on the Detention Unit and security mechanisms.”

The decision further alleged that this might constitute “a threat to the security and safety, in particular if a visiting journalist would discover those details.”

“In addition, there exists a possibility of a sensationalistic reporting, which, according to the Registrar’s opinion,can have negative after effects on you and interfere with the legal process conducted before the Tribunal,” the decision states.

Karadzic considers that those explanations were not “good enough”. He further considers that the official web page offers much more data on the Detention Unit than what a visiting journalist may personally see.

He also complained because the Registrar had not considered a possibility of organising a phone or written interview. In his complaint, Karadzic referred to the UN Convention of Civil and Political Rights, which alleges that “each person has the right to free expression,which includes the freedom to seek and receive information and ideas of all kinds.”

The decision will be rendered at a later stage.