His suicide will largely affect the cases. His earlier testimonies are saved in case files and will be used in the future, but I think it will be a blow to the prosecution, particularly in the trial of (Serbian State Security Service officials) Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, Edgar Chen, a legal expert with the International Coalition for Justice, the US non-governmental organisation following trials at the ICTY, told Hina in a telephone interview from The Hague.
Babic's testimony was absolutely crucial, particularly in the Milosevic case, when he revealed the existence of a parallel government structure and control from Belgrade, Chen said.
Jean Daniel Ruch, a political adviser to Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte who currently fills in for the spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor, declined to comment on the loss of Babic as a prosecution witness.
We, of course, regret the loss of every human life, it's a tragedy, but I do not want to comment on cases and consequences. Our policy is not to comment on cases, Ruch said.
According to unofficial sources in The Hague, Babic was checked every half an hour while in detention but was not placed under increased supervision because there had been no indications that he might do himself harm. The guards visited him at 1800 hours, and when they came back half an hour later they found him dead. ICTY President Fausto Pocar has ordered an investigation.
I guess Babic was separated from other prisoners in the detention unit. He already testified against (Croatian Serb wartime leader) Milan Martic, and before that against (former Serbian president) Slobodan Milosevic. He was expected to testify against (Serbian Radical Party leader) Vojislav Seselj. He could not be together with them, he did not get along well with them, Chen said.
Zagreb lawyer Goran Mikulic, who has a rich experience with the ICTY, said that Babic was treated as one of the more sensitive prisoners who were checked every half hour.
"When the prison administration assesses that someone is getting into a psychotic, suicidal state, it orders 24-hour supervision. I assume that the administration of Timothy McFaden did not get such signals because it would have acted as it had in previous cases," Mikulicic said.
Mikulicic said that Babic's testimony in the trial of Milan Martic would be of less value now, but that it would nevertheless be used by the trial chamber.
In future proceedings Babic's testimony will be used as evidence in written form. "But having a live person in the courtroom is one thing and reading his testimony is another," Mikulicic concluded.
On 27 January 2004 Babic pleaded guilty to a charge of persecution of Croatian civilians in the Serb-occupied areas of Croatia on political, racial and religious grounds as part of a joint criminal enterprise undertaken by Serb leaders with a view to creating a single Serb-dominated state.
Babic expressed deep remorse over crimes committed by Serbs and asked the Croatian people for forgiveness.
His German lawyer Peter Michael Mueller said on several occasions that Babic was the only senior Serb official whose remorse was sincere and that others expressed it for opportunist reasons to obtain lenient sentences.