THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, May 10 (Hina) - The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Monday discussed a request for the provisional release of former Serbian State Security Service chiefs Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic.
THE HAGUE/ZAGREB, May 10 (Hina) - The UN war crimes tribunal in The
Hague on Monday discussed a request for the provisional release of
former Serbian State Security Service chiefs Jovica Stanisic and
Franko Simatovic.#L#
However, a precedent was set at the session because Serbian Justice
Minister Zoran Stojkovic, who had arrived in The Hague to present his
government's guarantees for the pre-trial release of the two accused,
was treated as a witness rather than as a third party to the
proceedings.
Stojkovic had to take an oath in the courtroom declaring that he would
tell the truth and was subjected to a cross-examination by
prosecutors, which prompted a protest from the Serbian delegation with
tribunal president Theodor Meron, according to Belgrade media
reporting from The Hague.
Tribunal spokesman Jim Landale explained that Stojkovic was formally a
defence witness and that he was entered as such in the record of
today's hearing because Simatovic's defence attorneys had filed a
motion asking that the minister be heard in that capacity.
The Justice Ministry later issued a press release saying that
Stojkovic had not appeared before the tribunal as a witness. It said
that "a precedent was created in violation of international law
because a representative of our country was requested to take an oath
before the tribunal."
The fact that Stojkovic agreed to the request showed "this
government's willingness to cooperate with the Hague tribunal," the
statement said.
At today's session, prosecutors opposed the request for provisional
release, citing the risk of Simatovic and Stanisic not returning to
the tribunal and tampering with witnesses while at liberty.
Prosecutor Dermot Groom said that Stanisic and Simatovic were at the
centre of a joint criminal enterprise during wars in Croatia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina, that Serbia-Montenegro was not cooperating with
the tribunal and that the government in Belgrade had done nothing
after it was informed of the whereabouts of 16 persons indicted by the
tribunal.
(Hina) vm sb