● ICMP Communications ● Press Summary for Friday, August 20, 2010 ●
DANI visit Perućac
exhumation
Nuhanovic and Mustafic
press charges against UN
DUTCHBAT
DANI Magazine, Headline: DANI in Eastern Bosnia: Grave in the Drina
River (pgs 36-41, by Emir Imamović) – DANI journalist visited the
exhumation works that are underway at Perućac Lake. The reportage includes
statements about the work in the field by Amor Mašović, member of the
BiH Missing Persons Institute’s Board of Directors and anthropologist
Eva Klonowski. DANI carries that some 50 bodies of Višegrad people have
been located so far and another almost 800 are still missing.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Headline: Dutch inquiry into
Srebrenica case
Published on 19 August 2010 - 10:24pm
The Prosecutor’s Office in the Dutch city of Arnhem has launched an inquiry
into the facts surrounding the actions of the Dutchbat forces in Srebrenica in
Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995.
The move follows the formal filing of a complaint by relatives of victims of the
Srebrenica massacre. Their lawyer, Liesbeth Zegveld, says the accused
include Dutchbat Commander Thom Karremans, Deputy Commander
Rob Franken and personnel officer Berend Oosterveen.
Hasan Nuhanovic, who was an interpreter for the Dutchbat forces, and
relatives of Rizo Mustafic who was working as an electrician for the Dutch
are bringing the case. They accuse the Dutch soldiers of handing their relatives
over to Bosnian Serb troops who later killed them.
War-crimes judge orders
check into reports of
prosecutorial misconduct
The Dutchbat peacekeepers were charged with protecting Srebrenica, a United
Nations enclave. On 11 July 1995, it fell to the Bosnian Serbs who later
massacred around 8,000 Muslim men and boys who had been living in the
enclave.
LINK
CNN, Headline: War-crimes judge orders check into reports of
prosecutorial misconduct
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 19, 2010 -- Updated 0158 GMT (0958 HKT)
(CNN) -- A judge has ordered an independent inquiry into whether war-crimes
prosecutors at The Hague may have intimidated and/or pressured witnesses
testifying in the continuing trial of a Serbian politician accused of war crimes.
Presiding Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti announced he would appoint an
amicus curiae (friend of the court) to look into the charges, according to
documents posted on the website of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia.
The U.N. court deals with war crimes that occurred during the conflicts in the
Balkans in the 1990s.
Antonetti ordered the inquiry on June 29, but it received scant attention until
Wednesday, when a reporter asked about it at The Hague.
The inquiry cites former Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte as well as
prosecutors Hildegard Urtz-Retzlaff and Daniel Saxon. Del Ponte
stepped down from the job at the end of 2007 and is now Switzerland's
ambassador to Argentina.
"She's only mentioned because she's the former head of the office, but the
allegations are aimed at the investigators and lawyers who worked for her,"
said Frederick Swinnen, special assistant to the current prosecutor at
The Hague, in a telephone interview Wednesday with CNN.
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A man who answered the telephone at the Swiss Embassy in Buenos Aires said
Del Ponte was on vacation and not available.
The allegations concern testimony in the continuing trial of Vojislav Seselj, a
former political ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who died
in 2006 while on trial at The Hague.
Seselj first made similar complaints three years ago, Swinnen said. He noted
that the defendant has himself been convicted for contempt of court.
The friend of the court has not yet been appointed, he said Wednesday.
"There are several candidates; it's still at a preliminary stage," he said, adding
that he did not expect the inquiry to find any malfeasance.
"Our view is our staff has acted in a professional way and within the rules," he
said. "Once an amicus curiae is appointed, we will work with him and assist
him in his task."
The inquiry was initiated after a number of witnesses complained "that they
had been allegedly intimidated or pressured" by prosecutors, said Swinnen.
"The chamber obviously took these allegations very seriously and decided that
it would be wrong to leave any space for doubt arising either on the protection
of the rights of the accused or on the investigation techniques by members of
OTP [Office of the Prosecutor]," said Christian Chartier, acting spokesman
for registry and chambers, in a statement on the court's website.
The friend of the court is to report back to the chamber within six months
whether there are sufficient grounds to start contempt proceedings against
investigators for the prosecution, he said.
One witness said he and his family "were subjected to tremendous pressure by
the prosecution," including 30 to 50 telephone calls per say from the
prosecution, the judge wrote.
Another said prosecutors told him that, "if he testified, after that he could go
to America, that he would get a good salary and would get money."
Complaining statements also "mention sleep deprivation during interviews,
psychological pressuring, an instance of blackmail (the investigators offered
relocation in exchange for the testimony they hoped to obtain), threats (one,
for example, about preparing an indictment against a witness if he refused to
testify), or even illegal payments of money," the judge wrote.
Carla Del Ponte 'Intimidation'
Claims Denied by ICTY
The prosecution said it "considers these allegations to be utterly devoid of
factual basis."
LINK
Balkan Insight, Headline: Carla Del Ponte 'Intimidation' Claims
Denied
| 19 August 2010 | Nidzara Ahmetasevic
Hague prosecution officials have denied allegations that former war crimes
prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, and two of her team intimidated witnesses in the
ongoing trial of alleged Serbian warlord Vojislav Seselj.
Seselj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, SRS, claimed three years ago
that Del Ponte and prosecutors Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff and Daniel
Saxon threatened, bullied and attempted to pay off witnesses.
After an announcement of the launch of an investigation into the claims on
Wednesday, prosecution officials at The Hague denied the allegations.
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Prosecution spokeswoman Ljiljana Pitesa told Balkan Insight: “The
prosecution is confident that its employees acted professionally and in
accordance with the rules.
"We will co-operate with the investigation when amicus curiae [a legal advisor]
will be appointed in order to clarify those allegations."
Seselj, the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, SRS, is indicted by the
International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, on charges including
murder and torture carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia during
the conflict in the 1990s.
Christian Chartier, the ICTY spokeperson, told Balkan Insight, that at this stage
"there is only an investigation, to be undertaken by an external and
independent amicus curiae".
"He/she will look into the allegations of intimidation made by a number of
witnesses and will conclude whether there are, or not, grounds for contempt
proceedings."
Some of the witnesses have claimed prosecutors pressured them to testify,
with one alleging he received “30 to 50” calls a day urging him to come to
court.
Another witness claimed the prosecution told him that if he testified "he could
go to America and get a good salary”.
One more witness stated that he was “forced” to sign a statement under
threat of continued interrogation.
Hague officials said in a statement: “The investigation will cover: witnesses
who have appeared before the Chamber; witnesses who have not yet
appeared but who are potential defence witnesses according to the accused.”
A report has to be submitted to the trial chamber six months after an
investigator is appointed.
Frederick Swinnen, an acting spokesperson for the Office of the Prosecutor,
said the decision to start an investigation was made on 29 June this year, but
it was not made public until yesterday because “until recently, a procedural
legal proceeding regarding the actual status of the decision was ongoing”.
Carla del Ponte was chief prosecutor for eight years, leaving the position in
2007.
The case is the first time since the ICTY was established in 1993 that the
former chief prosecutor has been investigated.
LINK
News from Kosovo Office
Interview with presecutor Vukcevic in VIP
How is it possible that you discovered a mass grave with the bodies
of 250 Albanians near Raska in May, and that recent examinations of
the soil have shown that there are no bodies there?
“The analysis of the soil has just begun. Samples have been taken on
numerous locations, however, we have barely approached the place in which
we think the bodies are located. In the meantime, statements are given
contrary to the law and article 504. The case is an official secret. Those who
say that there is nothing there, perhaps find themselves in some past times.
EULEX’s report of 8 July clearly shows that a basin is most probably located
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underneath the house. In the same way, our EULEX colleagues warn us that
the technique and manner in which the terrain analysis is carried out is not
adequate and they finally indicate a lack of firm geology under the building,
which clearly shows that research should be carried out there. We have also
warned our colleagues in the investigation of this.
Are you still working on that location?
“To be precise, the EULEX report, besides warning us, also indicates to the
suspicion that there are obstructions in the investigation. On Monday, we
wrote for the second time to the investigating judge of the Special Department
for War Crimes of the Higher Court in Belgrade, in which we propose that the
investigation be continued.
Do you believe that you have inflicted major damage on Serbia by
claiming that there was a mass grave before the necessary evidence
was acquired?
“I only said that we have the information. There is no inflicting of damage
there, since we demonstrate before the international community that we are
ready to investigate all crimes, which is a benefit. It is my job to identify those
who had, in the name of the Serbs, committed war crimes, Vukcevic said in an
interview to Press.
Prosecutor Vukcevic: We Will Flush Mladic Out of His Hole
Hague indictee Ratko Mladic will be flushed out “of his hole”, and the round
the clock work in that aim carried out by all the services and government
bodies of this country within the Action Team, have so far led to very useful
materials: footages of telephone conversations, his diaries, Serbian War Crimes
Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said in an interview to Press daily of Friday.
How is it possible that you have just recently found Mladic’s tapes in
an attic, when you had searched his house before?
“Because they were very well hidden!”
Have you listened to and watched the found tapes?
“As a member of the Action Team it is my obligation to be informed about
this. I have already heard and seen a lot. Here, you have just now interrupted
me, I am just listening through Mladic’s conversation with Perisic [Momcilo, the
former Head of the FRY Army General Staff, who is also tried before ICTY]. I
set aside two hours every day to listen to them.
Are you thinking of resigning if you don’t find Mladic soon, as the
[coordinator for the implementation of the Action Plan for completing
cooperation with ICTY] Rasim Ljajic did?
“I never even mentioned resignation. When Rasim resigned, I said that if I
should express solidarity with him, then I can do it. However, I said then that
it was easy to resign and I said that I would not do it, but that I would be
persistent and persevere to the end.
What is happening with Goran Hadzic [the only other Hague
indictee, besides Mladic, on the run], do you know where he is?
“The activity of the government bodies and services directed towards his
transfer to The Hague is completely the same. There is no difference between
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him and Mladic in that sense.
You were a member of the Action Team during the time of the
former government as well. When was it easier to search for Mladic,
now or at the time of Vojislav Kostunica?
“Now! Both Prime Minister Kostunica and [the Prime Minister’s Chief of
Cabinet] Aleksandar Nikitovic were correct, I had also had a correct
cooperation with [BIA Head] Rade Bulatovic. However, I can now see that
Rade was not entirely open towards us.
In what way was he not open?
“I will tell you a sequence form the meeting of the Action Team, when
Bulatovic was a member as well. Ljajic used to always open the meeting and
gave permission to speak to each of the service chiefs. And Bulatovic was so
open towards us that on one occasion when Rasim gave him permission to
speak, I said: ‘Can I say instead of Bulatovic what he wants to say?’ Then
everyone was surprised, because of course, Rade will say ‘there is nothing
much to say, actually there is nothing new…’ Everyone laughed at me. Rade
used to say that there was nothing new, that the activities were big, but that
the results were minimal.
How is it possible that you discovered a mass grave with the bodies
of 250 Albanians near Raska in May, and that recent examinations of
the soil have shown that there are no bodies there?
“The analysis of the soil has just begun. Samples have been taken on
numerous locations, however, we have barely approached the place in which
we think the bodies are located. In the meantime, statements are given
contrary to the law and article 504. The case is an official secret. Those who
say that there is nothing there, perhaps find themselves in some past times.
EULEX’s report of 8 July clearly shows that a basin is most probably located
underneath the house. In the same way, our EULEX colleagues warn us that
the technique and manner in which the terrain analysis is carried out is not
adequate and they finally indicate a lack of firm geology under the building,
which clearly shows that research should be carried out there. We have also
warned our colleagues in the investigation of this.
Are you still working on that location?
“To be precise, the EULEX report, besides warning us, also indicates to the
suspicion that there are obstructions in the investigation. On Monday, we
wrote for the second time to the investigating judge of the Special Department
for War Crimes of the Higher Court in Belgrade, in which we propose that the
investigation be continued.
Do you believe that you have inflicted major damage on Serbia by
claiming that there was a mass grave before the necessary evidence
was acquired?
“I only said that we have the information. There is no inflicting of damage
there, since we demonstrate before the international community that we are
ready to investigate all crimes, which is a benefit. It is my job to identify those
who had, in the name of the Serbs, committed war crimes, Vukcevic said in an
interview to Press.
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