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ICTY Weekly Press Briefing - 20th Oct 2004

ICTY Weekly Press Briefing

Please
note that this is not a verbatim transcript of the Press Briefing.
It is merely a summary.


ICTY Weekly Press Briefing

Date: 20.10.2004

Time: 12.00 p.m.


Registry and Chambers:


Jim Landale, Spokesman for Registry and Chambers,
made the following statement:


Good morning,


I would like to remind you that there will be a
hearing before the Appeals Chamber in the Milosevic case starting
tomorrow at 9 a.m. in Courtroom I. The Appeals Chamber, composed
of Judges Meron (presiding), Pocar, Guney, Weinberg de Roca and
Mumba will be hearing submissions on the Assigned Counsel’s "Appeal
Against the Trial Chamber’s Decision on Assignment of Defence Counsel
"
filed on 29 September 2004.



The Appeals Chamber has ordered that the time at
the hearing will be allocated as follows: Assigned counsel 40 minutes;
Mr. Milosevic 40 minutes; Prosecution response 50 minutes; Assigned
counsel reply 15 minutes; and Mr. Milosevic reply 15 minutes. Copies
of that appeal, the Prosecution’s response and other relevant documents
are available from us on request.



I would also note that on 13 October a bench of
the Appeals Chamber granted the motions filed by Ivan Cermak and
Mladen Markac for leave to appeal Trial Chamber II’s 14 September
2004 Decision denying both of them provisional release.



Aside from the continuation of the Milosevic, Krajisnik,
Oric and Hadzihasanovic and Kubura trials next week, there will
be a status conference in The Prosecutor v. Blagoje Simic this
afternoon at 2.30 p.m. in Courtroom II.



There will be a status conference in The Prosecutor
v. Limaj, Bala and Musliu
this Friday 22 October at 2.30 p.m.
in Courtroom I.



And, there will be a status conference in The
Prosecutor v. Meakic et al.
on 27 October at 3 p.m. in Courtroom
I.



With regard to court documents, a list of the most
recent court documents will be available to you after this.



Office of the Prosecution:



Florence Hartmann for the Office of the Prosecutor
made the following statement:



At a meeting today in The Hague, the High Representative
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Paddy Ashdown, and the ICTY Chief
Prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, underlined the need to make the War
Crimes Chamber of the BiH State Court operational by January 2005
and stated that there can be no compromise on the long term commitment
to the Rule of Law in BiH.



"Independent and effective trials at BiH’s
State Court are an essential element of the Rule of Law reforms
in BiH" said the High Representative. Carla Del Ponte added
that "BiH has undertaken to ensure the effective processing
of war crimes cases through the country’s domestic legal system
- to fail in this regard would be a very negative signal."



The High Representative and the Chief Prosecutor
discussed progress made in establishing the War Crimes Chamber,
which will enable BiH to effectively prosecute war crimes through
its own judicial system. The Parliament will tomorrow review amendments
to the current BiH Law on Courts, Prosecutors Office and the Law
on Transfer of War Crimes Cases from the ICTY to the Court of BiH.
It was agreed that failure to pass these amendments would severely
undermine the fight to hold war criminals accountable.



Carla Del Ponte underlined that "It is essential
war crimes legislation is passed by the Parliament tomorrow, so
that BiH can fulfil its January target for commencing with trials
of war criminals."



Questions:



A journalist referred to allegations made by
Mr. Milosevic’s Dutch lawyer that Mr. Milosevic did not receive
specialist care as Dr. Dijkman was not a cardiologist. In his response,
Landale stated that he had only seen a copy of the letter in which
these allegations were made in Dutch so could not comment in detail,
nor could he comment on proceedings that might be pending before
a Dutch disciplinary board. He added that Mr. Milosevic’s health
was a matter that was taken very seriously, it was given daily attention
and that Mr. Milosevic was provided with excellent medical care.
If this care suggested that Mr. Milosevic needed any particular
course of treatment, it would be provided to him.



In response to a question regarding the allegations
that Mr. Milosevic was not receiving medical care from a specialist
cardiologist, Landale answered that Mr. Milosevic had seen a number
of specialists in that field who had examined him in detail and
had made detailed findings and recommendations based on their examinations.



Landale added that Mr. Milosevic’s condition
was under constant review, monitoring and supervision. If and when,
according to the specialists, Mr. Milosevic needed additional examinations
or treatment, he received it. Landale reiterated he did not want
to comment in detail on a letter that had not yet been translated
into any of the working languages of the Tribunal.



Press Briefing documents:



The Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milosevic



15 October 2004 "Order On Status Of Confidential
And Ex Parte "Notice By Assigned Counsel Of Witness Developments
Pursuant To Order Of Trial Chamber Of 1 October 2004,’ Filed 8 October
2004."



15 October 2004 "Reply of Appellant To ‘Prosecution
Response To Assigned Counsel "Appeal Against The Trial Chamber’s
Decision On Assignment Of Defence Counsel’ And To ‘Defence Reply
To "Prosecution Motion To Strike Ground Of Appeal (3) From
Assigned Counsel ‘Appeal Against The Trial Chamber’s Decision On
Assignment Of Defence Counsel.’"



The Prosecutor v. Sefer Halilovic



13 October 2004 "Prosecutor’s Pre-Trial Brief
Pursuant To Rule 65ter (E)(i)."



18 October 2004 "Response To Prosecution Motion
To Amend The Indictment. Confidential Annex"



19 October 2004 "Prosecution’s response To
Defence Motion RE Prosecution Failure To Seek Leave From
Trial Chamber."



The Prosecutor v. Ivan Cermak and Mladen
Markac



13 October 2004 "Decision On Joint Motion
For Leave To Appeal Decision On Provisional Release."



The Prosecutor v. Naser Oric



18 October 2004 "Defence Motion For The Trial
Chamber To Take Judicial Notice Of Adjudicated Facts in The Deronjic
Case."



19 October 2004 "Partly Confidential: Addendum
To Prosecution’s Motion For The Admission Of Written Statements
Of Witnesses Veseljko Bogicevic, Novka Bozic, and Milandin Bogdanovic
Pursuant To Rule 92bis(C)."



The Prosecutor v. Pasko Ljubicic



18 October 2004 "Prosecution’s Motion Concerning
Confidential Filings From The Case of Prosecutor v. Tihomir Blaskic."



18 October 2004 "Second Application For The
Provisional Release Of The Accused."



The Prosecutor v. Jovica Stanisic and Franko
Simatovic



19 October 2004 "Prosecution’s Reply To Simatovic’s
"Defence response To "Prosecution’s Appeal Against Decision
On Provisional Release.’"



19 October 2004 "Defence Response To ‘Prosecution
Application Under Rule 115 To Present Additional Evidence In Its
Appeal Provisional Release.’"



The Prosecutor v. Momir Nikolic



19 October 2004 "Urgent: Prosecution Motion
For Extension of Pages."



The Prosecutor v. Blagoje Simic



19 October 2004 "Public Redacted Version Of
Prosecution’s Response Brief Of 27 July 2004."


*****


See
also the latest ADC-ICTY press briefing.