ZAGREB, June 19 (Hina) - Hague war crimes tribunal indictee Ante Gotovina's attorneys have said the fugitive Croatian general will wait until the tribunal's chief prosecutor has reviewed the documents submitted in connection with his
case, and that he will reply only when Carla Del Ponte has made her final decision. Until then, his status will remain unchanged, they say.
ZAGREB, June 19 (Hina) - Hague war crimes tribunal indictee Ante
Gotovina's attorneys have said the fugitive Croatian general will
wait until the tribunal's chief prosecutor has reviewed the
documents submitted in connection with his case, and that he will
reply only when Carla Del Ponte has made her final decision. Until
then, his status will remain unchanged, they say. #L#
In a statement released on Thursday in reaction to Del Ponte's reply
to a letter by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, the attorneys urge
the Croatian government to deliver to the Hague tribunal all the
necessary documentation which will enable the chief prosecutor to
fully consider all the aspects of the Gotovina case before she makes
her final decision.
Attorneys Luka Misetic, Ivo Farcic, Marijan Pedisic, and Ante
Vukorepa say Del Ponte's letter is technical in nature and
precisely describes the current status of the Gotovina case.
They say Del Ponte's claim that under the current circumstances
Gotovina cannot be interviewed as a suspect is correct because the
indictment verified by the tribunal is still valid. From the legal
point of view, there is no doubt that Gotovina's status is that of an
indictee and that the chief prosecutor may interview him only if he
surrenders to the tribunal, the attorneys say.
They point out that under the Hague tribunal's statute and rules, an
indictment may be altered or withdrawn based on acquitting
evidence. It is evident from Del Ponte's letter she has not reviewed
the documents submitted at President Mesic's initiative because
they have not been translated yet, the attorneys say.
If said documents constitute acquitting evidence, the chief
prosecutor is obliged under the tribunal's statute to change or
withdraw the indictment regardless of whether Gotovina appears in
court or not, the attorneys claim, adding this is not questionable
and has been applied in the Zec case.
In their statement, Gotovina's attorneys say he will leave Del
Ponte the time it takes to translate and review the documents that
have been submitted. Gotovina will give his answer after the chief
prosecutor makes her decision, and until then his status will not
change, the statement concludes.
(hina) ha