SERBIA / FILE: Prosecutors have filed an amended indictment against Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic

Record ID: 644820

  • Title: SERBIA / FILE: Prosecutors have filed an amended indictment against Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic
  • Date: 14th May 2010
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (MAY 13, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SPECIAL COURT BUILDING WINDOWS ON THE BUILDING SERGE BRAMMERTZ, CHIEF UN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR (RIGHT) ENTERING/SHAKING HANDS WITH VLADIMIR VUKCEVIC (LEFT), SERBIA'S CHIEF WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR/ENTERING ROOM BRAMMERTZ SEATED/TALKING TO VUKCEVIC BRAMMERTZ LISTENING TWO DELEGATIONS SEATED AT THE TABLE BRAMMERTZ ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF UN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR, SERGE BRAMMERTZ, SAYING: (Followed by Serbian official translation) "We presume that this request for amending indictment will be, will be public very soon, later this week, so you can have look at it, but mainly it's an amended indictment with 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in relations to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, in relation to genocide in Srebrenica ,shelling and sniping of Sarajevo, and hostage taking of Blue helmets." BRAMMERTZ HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF UN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR, SERGE BRAMMERTZ, SAYING (Followed by Serbian official translation): "What I can say based on information I have received in the past, and I received in the last two days, is that I still have no reason to believe that he is outside of Serbia. This is also I think, impression which is shared by all my interrogators." PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHIEF UN WAR CRIMES PROSECUTOR, SERGE BRAMMERTZ, SAYING (Followed by Serbian official translation): "And I would like again, like to conclude by saying that the arrest of two fugitives is really the absolute priority for our office, as we are saying all the time, that can be no alternative to these arrests." BRAMMERTZ LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVA3L8YF9DSDPU0E4UHSZEI2F2AP
  • Story Text: Prosecutors have filed an amended indictment against fugitive Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic in an effort to speed his trial if he is caught, the chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor said on Thursday (May 13) in Belgrade.
    Serge Brammertz said the new indictment listed 11 criminal counts against Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb army during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
    He is indicted for genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo in which 10,000 people were killed.
    "We presume that this request for amending indictment will be, will be public very soon, later this week, so you can have look at it, but mainly it's an amended indictment with 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in relations to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, in relation to genocide in Srebrenica, shelling and sniping of Sarajevo and hostage taking of Blue helmets," Serge Brammertz, the chief UN war crimes prosecutor said at news conference.
    The earlier 2002 indictment had 15 total counts against Mladic, so the latest version appears to be an effort to streamline some charges against him and avoid a drawn-out trial like that of the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
    Brammertz arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday (May 12) to assess the government's cooperation with the Hague-based war crimes court before his next report to the U.N. Security Council. The issue is vital to Serbia's aspirations of joining the European Union.
    Brammertz repeated that he is "cautiously optimistic" that Mladic will be arrested.
    "What I can say based on information I have received in the past, and I received in the last two days, is that I still have no reason to believe that he is outside of Serbia. This is also I think, impression which is shared by all my interrogators," Serge Brammertz added.
    The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in a statement: "As set out in the indictment, Ratko Mladic together with Radovan Karadzic was a key member of an overarching joint criminal enterprise, the objective of which was the permanent removal of Bosnian Muslims and Croats from the territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina that Bosnian Serbs claimed for themselves."
    The court is particularly mindful of the length of the trial of Milosevic, who died in 2006 before a verdict could be handed down. His trial had lasted four years and called 300 witnesses.
    Prosecutors had initially wanted to try former Bosnian Serb President Karadzic and Mladic together but separated the case last October prior to the start of Karadzic's trial.
    "And I would like again, like to conclude by saying that the arrest of two fugitives is really the absolute priority for our office, as we are saying all the time, that can be no alternative to these arrests," Serge Brammertz said.
    Later on Thursday, Serge Brammertz will meet Serbian President Boris Tadic.
    The European Union ministers will look closely at Brammertz's report before meeting in June to decide whether to allow Serbia to advance towards membership in the bloc.
    Serbia in December officially applied for EU membership, but further progress is pending on its ability to come to terms with its war time past and arrest two fugitives, Mladic and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, indicted for crimes against humanity.
    During a recent visit to Srebrenica, Brammertz said Serbia had no alternative but to arrest Mladic and Hadzic if it wants to proceed with its EU bid. Serbian authorities said they had stepped up efforts to arrest Mladic.
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