ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The ICTY indictment against Gen. Janko Bobetko was returned to the tribunal on Friday as it did not contain an obligation for the Croatian government or state what the government was expected to do, Deputy PM
and president of the council for cooperation with the UN tribunal Goran Granic said on Friday.
ZAGREB, Sept 20 (Hina) - The ICTY indictment against Gen. Janko
Bobetko was returned to the tribunal on Friday as it did not contain
an obligation for the Croatian government or state what the
government was expected to do, Deputy PM and president of the
council for cooperation with the UN tribunal Goran Granic said on
Friday. #L#
"The indictment doesn't exist for us," Granic told reporters after
a closed-door government session.
He added that members of the government were not briefed about the
content of the indictment and that it was not delivered to Bobetko.
Granic said he decided to return the indictment and enclosed
surrender warrant in his capacity of president of the council for
cooperation with the ICTY(International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia), and that he notified the government about his
decision.
After the indictment has been returned to The Hague, Granic expects
the prosecution and the tribunal to compile a correct document so
that conditions to act in line with the law may be met.
Granic recalled that the government received an indictment against
Bobetko and a surrender warrant at 19:45 hours on Thursday.
After the two documents were analysed, it was established they
referred solely to the ICTY prosecution, contained no commitment
for the Croatian government nor did it state what the government was
expected to do in terms of action, said Granic. He added that grave
legal-formal issues were the matter.
Zagreb attorney Goran Mikulicic told Hina the government returned
the delivered indictment and enclosed arrest warrant as they did
not state what the government was supposed to do.
"The request was not precisely formulated and from the existing
warrant it was not evident what exactly was expected of the
government," said Mikulicic, explaining that a procedural
oversight had occurred.
The other possibility at the disposal of the ICTY prosecution, in
line with the tribunal's rules, is to assess the conduct of
Croatia's authorities as non-cooperation.
The ICTY prosecution, which has been notified about the returned
indictment and arrest warrant, has thus far declined to comment on
the matter.
(hina) ha sb