BELGRADE, May 19 (Hina) - The ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said in Belgrade on Monday the ICTY Prosecution was ready to hand over some war crimes cases to the Serbian justice system. She also handed over to Serbian
authorities eight boxes of documents on war crimes against Croatian prisoners in Ovcara, near Vukovar, in 1991.
BELGRADE, May 19 (Hina) - The ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte
said in Belgrade on Monday the ICTY Prosecution was ready to hand
over some war crimes cases to the Serbian justice system. She also
handed over to Serbian authorities eight boxes of documents on war
crimes against Croatian prisoners in Ovcara, near Vukovar, in 1991.
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After talks with Serbian state officials, Del Ponte said she was
willing to hand over some cases to be tried in Belgrade because, as
she said, processing war crimes before domestic courts was
important for reconciliation. The prosecutor said the cases would
be handed over after a special law on a war crimes court was passed
in Belgrade, as it had been announced by Serbian authorities.
Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic said his government "is
absolutely devoted to cooperation with the Hague tribunal", and
that all indictees in Serbia would be arrested and extradited to the
ICTY.
Del Ponte and Zivkovic said they exchanged information on ICTY
indictee Ratko Mladic and other fugitives wanted by the Hague-based
UN war crimes tribunal.
According to the PM, "if Mladic is in Serbia he will be arrested and
there is no question about it".
Del Ponte stressed that same rules on arresting war criminals
applied to the authorities in Croatia, namely that they were
obliged to arrest ICTY indictee General Ante Gotovina. She added
that Bosnian authorities were obliged to arrest warlord Radovan
Karadzic and extradite him to The Hague.
(hina) it sb