ANNOUNCEMENT OF VERDICT IN FURUNDZIJA CASE POSTPONED

( Editorial: --> 7203 ) THE HAGUE, July 12 (Hina) - The announcement of a verdict in the Furundzija case before the Hague Tribunal for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has been postponed following a motion by the defence that the testimony of the key witness be withdrawn, ICTY said. The verdict will not be delivered on Tuesday, July 14, as had been announced previously, since the defence on Friday requested that the testimony of Witness A be withdrawn due to violation of ICTY regulations by the prosecution. In case a verdict of guilty is delivered, the defence will request a new trial. Anto Furundzija, a former commander of a special Croatian Defence Council (HVO) "Jokers" unit, is charged with failing to prevent an act of rape which his subordinate committed in his presence on May 15, 1993, in his unit's headquarters in Vitez, central Bosnia. The trial of Furundzija, who is tried for severe violations of the law and customs of war, lasted six days in May this year. The prosecution presented four and the defence two witnesses. The defence believes that the prosecutor deliberately withheld the information proving that the witness suffered from a psychological trauma after having been subjected to sexual harassment on May 15, 1993, and that she was under psychiatric supervision for the next year and a half at least. In that period and possibly afterwards, the witness suffered from memory disorders and post-traumatic stress and used medications, the defence said. To withhold such information from the defence is an obvious violation of the ICTY regulations on procedure and evidence, according to which the prosecutor must inform the defence about the existence of evidence pointing to possible innocence of the defendant or a lack of authenticity of the witness' testimony, Furundzija's defence said. On the basis of this objection, the ICTY has postponed the announcement of the verdict and called a hearing for Tuesday, when the stands of the prosecution and defence will be heard. (hina) rml 121449 MET jul 98