BLASKIC'S ATTORNEYS ASK THAT 53 WITNESSES OF PROSECUTION BE EXEMPT ED FROM TRIAL

ED FROM TRIAL THE HAGUE, 26 June (Hina) - The defence of General Tihomir Blaskic, Anto Nobilo and Russel Hayman, on Thursday asked that 53 witnesses of the prosecution be exempted from the process, as the defence received their names only two days before the start of the trial. "We got the names of those witnesses at the last moment," Nobilo told Hina, adding that it was visible from the documents the defence received that the witnesses had been interrogated during 1995 and 1996, "and the prosecution concealed that fact from the defence, which we consider to be a manipulation." The documents were sent to Russel Hayman's office in Los Angeles and to Nobilo's office in Zagreb at the time when the prosecution knew that Blaskic's attorneys were in The Hague, Nobilo added. The defence proposed that the interrogation of the witnesses be postponed for 60 days, as it had to visit and interrogate the witnesses, who are from Bosnia-Herzegovina. The trial of General Blaskic before the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), who was indicted for crimes against humanity, severe violations of the Geneva conventions and of the law and customs of war, started on Tuesday. After today's break, the trial will continue tomorrow. (hina) rm jn 271109 MET jun 97