Bastah et al: Alleged Threats to Indictee’s Family
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Refik Serdarevic, Defence attorney of Predrag Bastah, who is charged before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina with crimes committed in the Vlasenica area, claims that the family of his client has been exposed to threats. He did not say who had threatened them.
Serdarevic also informed the Trial Chamber that “Todor Todorovic, Defence attorney of the second indictee, spoke to Predrag Bastah’s wife last week”.
“It is symptomatic that someone is always looking for information about events in the courtroom. Another incident I would like to mention is the fact that the hearing transcripts, which are submitted to Bastah in the Kula Penal and Correctional Facility, were opened and read by an officer, although it is specifically indicated that they are not to be opened in the absence of the indictee,” Serdarevic said.
Bastah has been held in the Kula Facility since January 28, 2008.
In response, the Defence attorney of Goran Viskovic said that he had met iBastah’s wife “by accident in the municipal building”, also commenting that all data pertaining to the trial is public “and could be found on the internet”.
The Court said that “all complaints filed by the Defence of the first indictee” would be referred to the Prosecution, which would then check them.
The indictment alleges that Bastah, a former member of reserve police forces with the Public Safety Station in Vlasenica, and Viskovic, a former military policeman with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS, participated in capturing, taking away, raping, deporting and killing Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats from the Vlasenica area during 1992.
The Defence of the second indictee began presenting material evidence, introducing more than 50 extracts from the death registry pertaining to “Serbian civil war victims”.
“By these documents we want to prove that an armed conflict was conducted in Vlasenica during the time covered by the indictment. We also want to prove that there were victims on both sides of the conflict,” Defence attorney Todorovic explained.
According to the certificate on the number of killed Serbs in Vlasenica Municipality, which was presented by the Defence, 258 Serbs were killed in Vlasenica between April 21 and September 30, 1992.
The next hearing is due to take place on August 24, 2009.
