THE HAGUE THE HAGUE, March 9 (Hina) - The Hague-based International War Crimes Tribunal For Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) considers a possibility that the accused Mladen Naletilic Tuta enter a plea before a trial chamber in Zagreb, but the
trial itself will be conducted in The Hague, said a spokesman for the ICTY, on Thursday. Asked to comment on a statement of Croatian Premier Ivica Racan that it was possible that the trial of Naletilic commence in Zagreb, the spokesman Jim Landale said the Tribunal was thinking of several possibilities concerning the initial appearance before the trial chamber. Nalatilic's health condition will considerably impact on the decision on where he should initially appear before the court, Landale said. During the initial appearance before judges, an indictee should enter a plea. While in the Croatian judicial practice an indictee enters a plea at the very beginning of the tr
THE HAGUE, March 9 (Hina) - The Hague-based International War
Crimes Tribunal For Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) considers a
possibility that the accused Mladen Naletilic Tuta enter a plea
before a trial chamber in Zagreb, but the trial itself will be
conducted in The Hague, said a spokesman for the ICTY, on Thursday.
Asked to comment on a statement of Croatian Premier Ivica Racan that
it was possible that the trial of Naletilic commence in Zagreb, the
spokesman Jim Landale said the Tribunal was thinking of several
possibilities concerning the initial appearance before the trial
chamber.
Nalatilic's health condition will considerably impact on the
decision on where he should initially appear before the court,
Landale said.
During the initial appearance before judges, an indictee should
enter a plea.
While in the Croatian judicial practice an indictee enters a plea at
the very beginning of the trial, in the ICTY the initial appearance
is a part of the pre-trial procedure. The initial appearance
proceeds immediately after the Hague Tribunal takes over an
indictee, and even more than one year can pass before the
commencement of the trial.
Naletilic is now in a prison hospital in the Croatian capital.
Former Croatian authorities decided to extradite him to the Hague
Tribunal, but this transfer had to be postponed, owing to
Naletilic's heart problems.
Two weeks ago, the ICTY sent a doctors' team to Zagreb to check
Naletilic's state. The Dutch doctors assessed that Naletilic could
travel to The Hague provided that there are adequate preparations
and doctors' control.
The ICTY issued a joint indictment for Vinko Martinovic alias Stela
and Naletilic, charging them with crimes they allegedly committed
in the Mostar area during the Croat-Moslem conflict in Bosnia.
Martinovic, who is to be tried together with Naletilic, was handed
over to the ICTY last year. Immediately upon his arrival in the
Dutch city he entered a plea.
The Tribunal is planning to try the two Bosnian Croats together. At
the helm of the trial chamber that is going to try Naletilic and
Martinovic is the ICTY President, French justice, Claude Jorda. The
other two members of the trial chamber are Egyptian Fouad Riad and
Portuguese Almiro Rodrigues.
(hina) jn ms