ZAGREB, Nov 4 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Monday expressed satisfaction with the UN war crimes tribunal's Appeals Chamber's decision to schedule a session to discuss new evidence in the General Tihomir Blaskic case.
ZAGREB, Nov 4 (Hina) - The Croatian government on Monday expressed
satisfaction with the UN war crimes tribunal's Appeals Chamber's
decision to schedule a session to discuss new evidence in the
General Tihomir Blaskic case. #L#
The decision of the Appeals Chamber "contributes to establishing
the truth and administering justice and confirms the Government's
stand on full and open cooperation with the Hague-based tribunal
and delivery of requested documents which can be used in court
proceedings", reads a government statement.
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for
former Yugoslavia (ICTY) scheduled a session for November 21 to
decide if the new evidence, submitted by Blaskic's defence,
justifies a retrial.
In its decision, which was adopted on October 31, the Chamber
concludes that it is not ready to deliver a not guilty verdict
without considering the entire case and that it believes that it
would be more appropriate for a court of first instance to examine
the new evidence.
In March 2000 the ICTY sentenced the former commander of the Central
Bosnia Operative Zone on command responsibility to 45 years in
prison for crimes committed in central Bosnia, including the April
1993 massacre of 100 Muslims in the village of Ahmici.
During the appeals proceedings, Blaskic's defence on three
occasions in 2001 and 2002 requested the introduction of new
evidence which meets the criterion of extenuating or liberating
evidence, which it had not had access to during the trial.
(hina) rml sb