 |
War Crimes Suspect Asks To be Freed from Prison
‘The livelihoods of around 20 members of his family --
"The livelihoods of around 20 members of his family -- now in Austria and other places -- depend on him," Edina Residovic, defence counsel for Zejnil Delalic, told the U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia. "His children (in Belgrade) have no means of support and cannot move from Serbia," Residovic said, arguing that Delalic's release would allow him to take urgently needed measures to protect them by moving them to another country.
She said Delalic, accused of responsibility for the murder, torture and rape of Serb prisoners at Celebici in Konjic in 1992, would remain available to the tribunal. His lawyers argued that Delalic, arrested in Germany in March, had himself asked to be transferred to the Hague tribunal. One of three Muslims in the tribunal's custody, Delalic has been held in a U.N. cell at The Hague since May.
The prosecution objected to the move, saying the defence had failed to prove the existence of exceptional circumstances justifying a provisional release and had not guaranteed that Delalic would not pose a threat to victims and witnesses. Presiding Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald said the court would meet in camera later on Tuesday to discuss various procedural aspects of the case.
She did not say when the court would rule on the motion.
The tribunal has to date released three people from its custody. In March, Serb Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic was returned to Bosnian custody on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence against him. The following month, Bosnian Serb General Djordje Djukic was released for humanitarian reasons and later died of cancer. In June, another Serb, Goran Lajic, was freed after the prosecutor admitted they had detained the wrong man. |
THE HAGUE, July 23 (Reuters) - Lawyers for a Bosnian Muslim accused of war crimes at the Celebici camp in central Bosnia told a public hearing on Tuesday he should be provisionally released to care for his family.
Berserkistan, July 22 · Tribunal to Consider Release of War Crimes Suspect Delalic
Berserkistan, June 13 · Bosnia Sends Delic, Landzo to Tribunal
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Amnesty International
Coalition for International Justice
CourtTV War Crimes Tribunal Coverage
International Criminal Court Home Page
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Legal Information Infrastructure for Bosnia-Herzegovina Villanova University
Major War Criminals/Suspects CalTech's Bosnia Site
Open Source Factual Resources Coalition for International Justice
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia CalTech's Bosnia Site
Berserkistan is a world news service of
Michael Linder Productions, Inc.
©1996-2014 All Rights Reserved