Case No. IT-04-81-PT

IN THE TRIAL CHAMBER

Before:
Judge Patrick Robinson, Presiding
Judge O-Gon Kwon
Judge Iain Bonomy

Registrar:
Mr. Hans Holthuis

Decision of:
19 October 2005

PROSECUTOR

v.

MOMCILO PERISIC

_________________________________________________

DECISION GRANTING MOMCILO PERISIC’S MOTION TO MODIFY CONDITIONS OF PROVISIONAL RELEASE

__________________________________________________

The Office of the Prosecutor

Mr. Chester Stamp
Mr. Karim Agha
Mr. Frederic Ossogo

Counsel for Momcilo Perisic

Mr. James Castle

 

THIS TRIAL CHAMBER of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (the "Tribunal") is seized of a motion filed by Momčilo Perisic (the "Accused") seeking a modification of the terms of his provisional release and hereby renders a decision ("Decision") thereon.

  1. On 10 October 2005 the Accused filed a motion seeking modification of the Trial Chamber’s "Decision on Momcilo Perisic’s Motion for Provisional Release” issued on 9 June 2005 (“Motion"). In his Motion the Accused seeks to modify the condition of release that requires him to remain within the confines of the municipality of Belgrade. Specifically, he requests permission to travel to Kostunici, a town in Serbia approximately 130 km south of Belgrade, on the following dates: (1) 1-15 November 2005, (2) 15-30 December 2005, and (3) 15-30 January 2006.1 According to the Motion, the Accused intends to stay at his "brother’s home where he can visit his family and the graves of his family members" and where he can provide personal assistance to his brother, who is seriously ill and in need of the Accused’s help to secure medical treatment at a local hospital.2

  2. The Accused attaches to the Motion (in an annex designated as confidential) correspondence from two departments – the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs – of the government of the Republic of Serbia. This correspondence, according to the Accused, provides a "guarantee" that the government of the Republic of Serbia "has the capacity and the willingness to provide the resources and means to supervise the [proposed] visits to Kostunici."3

  3. The Office of the Prosecutor has informed the Trial Chamber that it will not file a response to the Motion.

  4. The Trial Chamber considers that sufficient reasons have been given and sufficient guarantees have been provided to warrant a temporary modification of the provisional release conditions of the Accused on the terms requested in the Motion.

  5. For these reasons, the Trial Chamber, pursuant to Rules 65 and 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Tribunal, GRANTS the Motion and ORDERS that:

  1. The Accused has permission to visit his brother at 32308 Pranjani, Kostunici, Gornji Milanovac, Republic of Serbia on (i) 1-15 November 2005, (ii) 15-30 December 2005, and (iii) 15-30 January 2006.
  2. The Accused shall provide details of each visit (including the dates of travel and a copy of this Decision granting permission for the visit) to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia at least seven days in advance of the departure date of each visit.

  3. The government of the Republic of Serbia shall (i) between 1 November 2005 and 1 February 2006 submit a written report to the Trial Chamber every two weeks on the compliance of the Accused with his provisional release conditions as set forth in this Trial Chamber’s Decision of 9 June 2005 and this Decision; (ii) immediately arrest and detain the Accused if he should breach any of his provisional release conditions as set forth in this Trial Chamber’s Decision of 9 June 2005 and this Decision, and (iii) immediately report to this Trial Chamber any breach of his provisional release conditions as set forth in this Trial Chamber’s Decision of 9 June 2005 and this Decision.

  1. This Decision does not affect the continued application of the terms and conditions of the Accused’s provisional release contained in the Trial Chamber’s decision of 9 June 2005, except to the extent provided in paragraph 5, above.

  2. The Trial Chamber requests that the Registrar serve this Decision on the government of the Republic of Serbia.

 

Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative.

_________________
Judge Patrick Robinson
Presiding

Dated this 19th day of October 2005
At The Hague, The Netherlands


1. The Motion requests permission to travel to Kostunici from “January 15, 2005 to January 30, 2005" but this is presumed to be a typographical error. See Motion, para. 3(b).
2. Motion, paras. 3-4.
3. Id. at para. 5, and Appendix A. The Motion states that the guarantees are provided by the "Government of Serbia and Montenegro", but the letters are in fact from ministries of the government of the Republic of Serbia. Specifically, the appendix contains a letter from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia to Mr. Perisic stating that the answer "to the question whether the government organs of the RS [Republic of Serbia] can ensure full security during your [proposed] stay in Kostunici, Gorjnji Milanovac municipality, is affirmative. This means that our Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior of the RS, pursuant to the relevant decision taken by the International Criminal Tribunal, will act in full compliance with the said decision regarding your security and safety." The appendix also contains a letter from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia stating that the Accused’s request "to stay in the village of Kostunici for intervals of 15 days each pending the commencement of the trial … should be granted" but only "on condition that the decision on each individual trip … be forwarded to this Ministry at least seven days in advance to allow for the necessary organisation and preparation."