BELGRADE, Sept 12 (Hina) - Serbia's Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed a Belgrade county court verdict which sentenced 14 former NATO and Western leaders to 20 years in prison each last September for "NATO's crimes in the FRY (Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia)." The Belgrade county court said the case was returned to trial and that an order for detention and the issuing of an arrest warrant "against the accused" was quashed, with the explanation that the military court was the sole competent body for breaches of territorial integrity. During the mock trial, held when Slobodan Milosevic was still in office as Yugoslavia's president, 14 NATO and Western leaders were found guilty of "NATO crimes during shelling between March 24 and June 10, 1999." "Sentenced" at the time were the presidents, prime ministers, or foreign and defence ministers of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain, and NAT
BELGRADE, Sept 12 (Hina) - Serbia's Supreme Court on Wednesday
quashed a Belgrade county court verdict which sentenced 14 former
NATO and Western leaders to 20 years in prison each last September
for "NATO's crimes in the FRY (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)."
The Belgrade county court said the case was returned to trial and
that an order for detention and the issuing of an arrest warrant
"against the accused" was quashed, with the explanation that the
military court was the sole competent body for breaches of
territorial integrity.
During the mock trial, held when Slobodan Milosevic was still in
office as Yugoslavia's president, 14 NATO and Western leaders were
found guilty of "NATO crimes during shelling between March 24 and
June 10, 1999."
"Sentenced" at the time were the presidents, prime ministers, or
foreign and defence ministers of the United States, Germany, and
Great Britain, and NATO leaders Javier Solana and Gen. Wesley
Clark.
The quashed verdict comes in the wake of a heated debate caused by
Vojislav Seselj, the Serb radicals' leaders, who demanded last week
the arrest of French President Jacques Chirac "as soon as he steps
on Yugoslav soil" as he was "sentenced" to 20 years in prison for
"war crimes."
Chirac was to make a two-day trip to Yugoslavia this week, but
cancelled today in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Seselj voiced his demand in the Yugoslav federal parliament and
reiterated several times in the media that the judiciary "must
abide by the law or quash the decision."
After the change of government in Yugoslavia late last year,
several of "the accused" visited the country, but without
consequences, including French Minister Hubert Vedrine, former
British Minister Robin Cook, German Minister Joschka Fischer, and
Solana.
The trial, which lasted only a few days, will go down in history for
a statement made by former U.S. President Bill Clinton's court-
appointed defence attorney, who said the 20-year sentence was too
lenient for his client and proposed the death sentence.
(hina) ha