Golubovic: Custody Release Motion

The Defence of Blagoje Golubovic and the indictee himself filed a motion asking the Court to allow him to defend himself while at liberty. The Trial Chamber will render a decision on this at a later stage.

“We propose that he reports to the Police Station in Miljevina one or more times per day. The indictee calls on the Court to let him defend himself while at liberty, because the survival of his family is at stake,” said Bajro Cilic, Golubovic’s Defence attorney.

Blagoje Golubovic said that he did not intend to flee, as he considered Bosnia and Herzegovina to be his homeland, adding that he “wants to prove his innocence with honour”.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina objected to the motion claiming that the circumstances which justified his detention still exist.

The Prosecution charges Golubovic with having participated, together with his brother Ranko and brothers Ranko and Rajko Vukovic, in the murder of two civilians in Podkolun village, Foca Municipality in late May 1992.

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina rendered a first-instance decision sentencing each of the two Vukovic brothers to 12 years’ imprisonment for the same crime. The verdict was then revoked and a retrial begun.

Golubovic was arrested in Novi Sad in April 2008 on an international warrant. He was kept there for nine months before being extradited to the judicial institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 2009.

The Prosecution presented its proposal for admitting the facts determined at several trials conducted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY. The Defence objected, claiming that those determined facts were “not related to the indictee”.

The Trial Chamber will render a decision on this at a later stage.

It was planned that Prosecution witness Pasana Sejfic would be examined at this hearing. However, the witness failed to appear in court as she is on holiday.

“This witness refuses to cooperate with the Prosecution. I must say that I doubt whether the cited reason is true. I would therefore like to ask you to check with the Novi Grad municipality, where she works, whether she is actually on vacation or not. If it appears that she is not, we shall ask the Court to apprehend her,” Prosecutor Behaija Krnjic said.

The Trial Chamber said it would check the allegations pertaining to witness Sejfic’s absence. After that it will decide whether the witness will be apprehended or not.

Previous Prosecution witnesses testified that Sejfic was present in Podkolun village in May 1992, when the civilians whose death is charged upon Golubovic were killed.

The trial is due to continue on May 19, when two new witnesses will be examined.