ICTY Prosecution surprised by Vukcevic's statement
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Prosecution is surprised by an alleged statement by Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic, according to which the Prosecution is responsible for the death of 19 witnesses in the 'Haradinaj and others' case, Frederick Swinnen, special advisor to the chief prosecutor, said on Wednesday.
(KosovoCompromiseStuff) Thursday, November 29, 2012
The advisor to Serge Brammertz said that he had talked with Vukcevic about the statement, and that he said that the information had been reported in an incorrect way.
The witness protection was a major challenge during the 'Haradinaj and others' trial. And the Trial Chamber made it clear in the first verdict that the witnesses had felt insecure, and that they had been intimidated, Swinnen said, underscoring that there is no evidence that the witnesses had been killed because they were the witnesses of the Prosecution.
It is simply not true that witnesses were murdered, Swinnen said at a regular press briefing.
In an interview to the Wednesday edition of Informer, Vukcevic accused the ICTY of being responsible to a great extent for the death of 19 people in the proceedings against Ramus Haradinaj, to whom the court should deliver a verdict on Thursday.
Vukcevic estimated that the tragic fate of witnesses is a result of "incompetence" of ICTY clerks, who "did a sloppy job."
When asked whether it would be possible to appeal against the verdict that the Trial Chamber would deliver on Thursday against three former commanders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Swinnen said that is the first case of retrial.
It depends on the court's decision. I suppose that there is a possibility of appeal, Swinnen said.
The witness protection was a major challenge during the 'Haradinaj and others' trial. And the Trial Chamber made it clear in the first verdict that the witnesses had felt insecure, and that they had been intimidated, Swinnen said, underscoring that there is no evidence that the witnesses had been killed because they were the witnesses of the Prosecution.
It is simply not true that witnesses were murdered, Swinnen said at a regular press briefing.
In an interview to the Wednesday edition of Informer, Vukcevic accused the ICTY of being responsible to a great extent for the death of 19 people in the proceedings against Ramus Haradinaj, to whom the court should deliver a verdict on Thursday.
Vukcevic estimated that the tragic fate of witnesses is a result of "incompetence" of ICTY clerks, who "did a sloppy job."
When asked whether it would be possible to appeal against the verdict that the Trial Chamber would deliver on Thursday against three former commanders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Swinnen said that is the first case of retrial.
It depends on the court's decision. I suppose that there is a possibility of appeal, Swinnen said.
