SARAJEVO, June 18 (Hina) - The Hague-based international war crimes tribunal's prosecution is investigating 108 persons, and the trials of some of them might be turned over to judicial bodies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Tribunal's
Chief Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, said on Tuesday.
SARAJEVO, June 18 (Hina) - The Hague-based international war crimes
tribunal's prosecution is investigating 108 persons, and the
trials of some of them might be turned over to judicial bodies in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Tribunal's Chief Prosecutor, Carla del
Ponte, said on Tuesday. #L#
Del Ponte and Claude Jorda, the President of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), are on a visit
to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On Tuesday the ICTY officials held talks with the Bosnian
collective Presidency on preconditions the country should meet to
be able to conduct the trials of war criminals in domestic courts.
We are carrying out investigations against 108 suspects and the
probes should be completed soon, del Ponte said. As soon as
indictments are issued we will be able to discuss them, she told
reporters, but refused to give any more explanations.
It is known that these 108 suspects are connected to about 35 war
crimes cases.
The cases which might be processed by the Bosnian judiciary refer to
50 low-profile war criminals.
The Presidency's chairman, Beriz Belkic, said he expected that his
country would be among the first in the region to hold war crimes
suspects' trials.
"There are, however, weak points which present obstacles to the
quick transfer of some trials to Bosnia, primarily the insufficient
development of the judicial system," Belkic admitted.
In this context he relayed the state leadership's full support to
measures the High Representative to Bosnia, Lord Paddy Ashdown, had
announced to establish a court at the state level.
ICTY President Jorda believes it is necessary to set up a special
division within the Bosnian court, the task of which would be the
processing of war crimes. This department would include foreign
judges, Jorda proposed.
In these procedures, the entities (the Croat-Muslim federation and
the Serb entity) have their own place, and they can demonstrate
their good will by arresting suspects who are still at large, Jorda
said.
Belkic said that during today's talks the Presidency and the ICTY
officials had reiterated the importance of the arrest of Bosnian
Serb war-time leaders Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic in
the near future. The two criminals would remain within the
jurisdiction of the ICTY.
The Presidency's Serb member, Zivko Radisic, supported the
apprehension of all suspects, adding that the fact that they were
still at large harmed primarily the interests of the people they
belonged to.
On Wednesday, the ICTY delegation will travel to Banja Luka to meet
Bosnian Serb representatives.
(hina) ms