The Hague Prosecution has requested the rejection of the request of Ratko Mladic’s defense for a review of the decision which allows lawyers who worked on the verdict to Radovan Karadzic to work on the verdict to Mladic.
Prosecutors filed a submission to the Appeals Chamber of the Hague Tribunal in which they stated that there are no reasons to “reconsider or cancel” the decision of the Chamber and that Mladic’s right to a fair trial was not violated by the fact that some of the lawyers who worked on Karadzic’s verdict are now members of the Council that will work on Mladic’s verdict, as reported by BIRN – Justice Report.
Mladic’s defense stated that the lawyers already made some conclusions about the guilt of the former Commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in the verdict to Karadzic and therefore should be disqualified. That request was rejected because the Council stated that lawyers are not making conclusions on guilt, and that it is the role of the judges, after which the defense requested for this decision to be reviewed or canceled.
“The evidence presentation of the defense is almost over, and the last witness will testify in a month, on the 16th of August. In the interests of justice is to complete this process expeditiously. Any permission to appeal on this issue would slow down rather than speed up the process,” stated the Prosecution.
Mladic is on trial for genocide in Srebrenica, the persecution of the Bosniaks and Croats throughout BiH, which is in several municipalities of the scale of genocide, terror against civilians in Sarajevo and taking UNPROFOR members hostage. For the same crimes, The Hague Tribunal condemned Karadzic to 40 years in prison by the first instance verdict.
Mladic’s defense asked for suspension of the proceedings before the Hague Tribunal because of “systemic bias” of the court.
(Source: novovrijeme.ba)
