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Karadzic’s Lawyers Say Their Client Wants ‘A Level Playing Field’
Karadzic is anxious to prove his innocence, they say. But there are
few who expect Karadzic to surrender himself to The Hague.
By Lien van der Leij
"(He's saying) 'I'll consider the trial but at least give me a fair feel'," Medvene told reporters in The Hague. But he played down expectations of Karadzic giving himself up for trial, accusing the U.N. war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia of bending the rules of criminal procedure. "He (Karadzic) will accept a trial if the rules are fair... They are not fair," Medvene said. "If they don't change the rules on collective responsibility, if they don't change the (reverse) burden of proof, then we don't have a trial."
Medvene was speaking after a tribunal judge turned down a request by him and fellow lawyer Thomas Hanley to sit in on genocide hearings against Karadzic and Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who are accused of running a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing during the 3½-year Bosnian war. Both men remain at large.
The two lawyers, members of the California bar association, had asked to attend the hearings to monitor what steps the tribunal had taken when it issued arrest warrants against Karadzic last year. "From what we have seen, there was never any attempt to properly serve Dr Karadzic (with a warrant) in Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb Republic) as is required by the rules of the tribunal," Medvene earlier told the court hearings.The U.N. criminal tribunal for
former Yugoslavia on Friday rejected a request from two U.S. lawyers representing Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to sit in on genocide hearings against him.
"The court rejects the request of (Edward) Medvene and (Thomas) Hanley that they be permitted to remain in the court room...as well as their free access to the documents and case files," tribunal judge Claude Jorda said.
"From what we have seen, there was never any attempt to properly serve Dr Karadzic (with a warrant) in Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb Republic) as is required by the rules of the
tribunal," Medvene told the court. "We are here to see...(if) they have served it properly or they haven't," he said, adding that if the correct procedures had not been followed, there were no grounds for issuing an international arrest warrant.
The seven-day hearings which began on June 27 are not a trial in absentia, but allow prosecutors to present evidence against indicted war criminals who have not been arrested. Previous hearings have resulted in tribunal judges warrants against those accused. Judge Jorda said all steps to inform Karadzic had been taken, and ordered that the two lawyers be given special seats in the public gallery at the Hague court.
The lawyers had sought to be allowed physically to sit in court, effectively being recognised as agents of Karadzic and having access to prosecution documents. Instead they must make do with being lumped along with press and public in the gallery, which is removed from the courtroom by a large bullet-proof glass wall.
The court last week rejected a similar request for access by another Karadzic lawyer, Igor Pantelic, saying the presence of a defence lawyer would jeopardise the nature of the hearings. |
THE HAGUE, July 5 (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawyers representing Radovan Karadzic said on Friday the Bosnian Serb leader was keen to prove his innocence, but would not stand trial in The Hague unless he was guaranteed "a level playing field." "Karadzic is very anxious to prove to the world that he was not involved in any atrocities," lawyer Edward Medvene said, adding that Karadzic had not ruled out a trial, but wanted to ensure that the rules were fair.
Berserkistan, Berserkistan, June 26 · Karadzic, Mladic Dispatch a Lawyer to the Tribunal
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Key Facts about the War Crimes Tribunal
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia from the United Nations
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Reports concerning human rights abuses in Bosnia published by Intac Access
Major War Criminals/Suspects from CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia from CalTech's Bosnia Site
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