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1 Thursday, 20 June 2002
2 [Initial Appearance]
3 [Open session]
4 [The accused entered court]
5 --- Upon commencing at 2.35 p.m.
6 JUDGE ORIE: Madam Registrar, would you please call the case.
7 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. This is case number
8 IT-95-10-I, the Prosecutor versus Ranko Cesic.
9 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Madam Registrar. Good afternoon to
10 everyone.
11 May I first have the appearances for the Prosecution.
12 MR. HARMON: Good afternoon, Your Honour. My name is Mark
13 Harmon. To my right is Mr. Vladimir Tochilovsky, and to his right is
14 Mr. Tom Hannis, and to my left is Susan Grogan.
15 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you, Mr. Harmon.
16 May I have the appearances for the Defence.
17 THE INTERPRETER: Microphone, please.
18 JUDGE ORIE: Could you --
19 MR. V. NEDIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour and my learned friends,
20 I'm Vojislav Nedic, attorney-at-law from Belgrade. Mr. Ranko Cesic has
21 appointed me his Defence attorney.
22 My professional career goes back 25 years and, in essence, it may
23 be divided into two parts. In the first part, I was a Judge --
24 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Nedic, I will easily accept that you have an
25 outstanding career. I don't think that at this very moment we need any
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1 further information about that. So you are Mr. Nedic, and next to you is
2 sitting -- I think both your names are Nedic.
3 MR. V. NEDIC: Yes.
4 JUDGE ORIE: Just in order to -- one of you is Vojislav Nedic.
5 That's you.
6 MR. V. NEDIC: Yes.
7 JUDGE ORIE: And next to you is Radoslav Nedic? Yes. Well, thank
8 you very much.
9 We will proceed today with the initial appearance of the accused
10 Ranko Cesic. Let me first ask you - I'd forgotten - but can you hear me,
11 Mr. Cesic, in a language you understand?
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, I can.
13 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you very much. May I ask you a few questions?
14 First, could you please give your full name for the record.
15 Yes. We have technical problems, as far as I -- it might --
16 Yes. Do you now understand the interpretation of what I'm
17 saying? Yes.
18 Mr. Cesic, could you please give your full name for the record.
19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] My name is Ranko Cesic.
20 JUDGE ORIE: Do you have any nicknames or is this the name always
21 used?
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Only my name is used. I have no
23 special nickname.
24 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Could you tell us your date of birth.
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] September 1964.
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1 JUDGE ORIE: I didn't hear what date in September, but I might not
2 have listened well. Which day in September?
3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The 5th of September, 1964.
4 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you. What was the last address you resided on
5 before you were transferred to the Tribunal?
6 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Vinogradska Street 35D in Belgrade.
7 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Cesic, have you received a copy of the indictment
8 in a language you understand, and have you read it?
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes, Your Honour. I have received
10 it, and I have read it.
11 JUDGE ORIE: Were you able to discuss the content of the
12 indictment with counsel?
13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes.
14 JUDGE ORIE: May I then take it that you understand the content of
15 it?
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Yes.
17 JUDGE ORIE: Mr. Cesic, at this initial appearance, you're
18 entitled to plead, in respect of this indictment, guilty or not guilty to
19 each count, but you also may do it at a later stage. Have you consulted
20 with your counsel whether you'd enter your pleas today or at a later
21 stage?
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I have decided to enter my pleas
23 today.
24 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you very much.
25 I was informed - but counsel would correct me if I'm not well
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1 informed - that the accused waived his right to have the indictment read
2 out loudly in its entirety. That is true?
3 So Mr. Cesic, I do understand that you waived your right to have
4 read out your indictment in its full text. So we'll just refer to the
5 individual counts when we continue.
6 We are talking about the second amended indictment, which is not
7 only pertaining to you but also to someone who has already stood trial
8 here in The Hague, Mr. Jelesic. You have been arrested on the basis of a
9 warrant of arrest which was issued on the 18th of April in 2001. And may
10 I invite you to, on each count that you plead, plead guilty or not guilty,
11 and I'll confront you with each of these counts.
12 The numbers are the numbers as they appear in the indictment, and
13 therefore we do not start with number 1.
14 Count 2 charges you with the murder of five persons that was
15 allegedly committed in May 1992 and it charges you with this murder as a
16 violation of the laws or customs of war. Do you plead guilty or not
17 guilty to that count?
18 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
19 JUDGE ORIE: Count 3 charges you - and that is cumulatively - with
20 the same but now characterised as crimes against humanity. Do you plead
21 guilty or do you plead not guilty?
22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
23 JUDGE ORIE: Count 24 of the indictment charges you with the
24 murder of a person with the name Sejdo in May 1992 as a violation of the
25 laws and the customs of war. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
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1 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
2 JUDGE ORIE: Count 25 of the indictment charges you, again
3 cumulatively, with the murder of the same person, Sejdo, but now as a
4 crime against humanity. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
5 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
6 JUDGE ORIE: Count 26 charges you with the murder of Mirsad
7 Glavovic in May 1992 as a violation of the laws and customs of war. Do
8 you plead guilty or not guilty?
9 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
10 JUDGE ORIE: I didn't understand the translation well. But
11 it's --
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
13 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you. Count 27 charges you, again cumulatively,
14 with the same murder of Mirsad Glavovic but now characterised as a crime
15 against humanity. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
17 JUDGE ORIE: Count 28 of the indictment charges you with the
18 humiliation and degrading treatment of two persons in May 1992 as a
19 violation of the laws or customs of war. Do you plead guilty or not
20 guilty?
21 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
22 JUDGE ORIE: Count 29 charges you with the same acts but now
23 characterised as rape, which includes other forms of sexual assault, as a
24 crime against humanity. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
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1 JUDGE ORIE: Count 34 of the indictment charges you with the
2 murder of Nijad Jasarevic in May 1992 as a violation of the laws or
3 customs of war. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
4 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
5 JUDGE ORIE: Count 35 charges you cumulatively with the same
6 murder but now characterised as a crime against humanity. Do you plead
7 guilty or not guilty?
8 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
9 JUDGE ORIE: Count 42 of the indictment charges you with the
10 murder of two unknown men in May 1992 as a violation of the laws or
11 customs of war. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
12 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
13 JUDGE ORIE: Count 43 charges you, again cumulatively, with the
14 same murders, characterised now as a crime against humanity. Do you plead
15 guilty or not guilty?
16 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty.
17 JUDGE ORIE: Thank you. Please sit down.
18 Madam Registrar, will you please take note that Mr. Cesic has
19 pleaded not guilty to all the counts in his respect in the indictment.
20 The Registrar will be instructed to fix a date, although it might
21 not be appropriate to do it right away, but will at a later stage fix a
22 date for trial.
23 And you, Mr. Cesic, you will have to remain in custody until
24 further order in the detention facilities of the UN here in The Hague.
25 Is there any specific matter the Prosecution would like to raise
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1 at this very moment?
2 MR. HARMON: No, Your Honour, there is not.
3 JUDGE ORIE: There is not. Thank you, Mr. Harmon.
4 Is there any matter the Defence would like to raise at this very
5 moment?
6 MR. V. NEDIC: [Interpretation] No, Your Honour.
7 JUDGE ORIE: Let me then ask you, Mr. Cesic, is everyone who
8 should be informed about your presence here in the Tribunal at this
9 moment, is he or she informed? I mean your family or the diplomatic
10 agency representing your country in The Hague. Is everyone aware of your
11 presence here or is there any specific need to inform specific people
12 about your presence here?
13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] They have all been informed, Your
14 Honour.
15 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. So, then, no specific action is necessary to be
16 taken in that respect.
17 As far as your detention as such is concerned - and I'm not asking
18 just of you but perhaps also an answer could be given by your counsel -
19 are there any specific issues in respect of the arrest, transfer, or
20 detention which should be raised at this moment?
21 MR. V. NEDIC: [Interpretation] No.
22 JUDGE ORIE: There is not. Please be seated, Mr. Cesic.
23 Then I may remind the Prosecution that they have obligations under
24 Rule 66 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence to disclose within 30 days
25 all the supporting material to the indictment.
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1 MR. HARMON: If I may comment, Your Honour.
2 JUDGE ORIE: Yes.
3 MR. HARMON: We will disclose today the supporting material in a
4 language the accused understands, today.
5 JUDGE ORIE: Yes.
6 MR. HARMON: We will disclose eight witness statements to the
7 accused, seven of which are translated in a language that he understands.
8 We have two expert reports that we will be filing very shortly in this
9 case as well.
10 JUDGE ORIE: So your disclosure obligations are taken very
11 seriously not only as far as the content is concerned but also as far as
12 the time limits are concerned.
13 MR. HARMON: That is correct.
14 JUDGE ORIE: If you would like to file any preliminary motions,
15 you will have to do that within 30 days, 30 days from the moment that you
16 have received all of the supporting material, in accordance with the
17 Rules. So it's not from this date but as soon as you have received all
18 the supporting material.
19 I take it that if it's given in portions, that you indicate
20 clearly at what moment all the supporting material has been provided to
21 the Defence.
22 MR. HARMON: We will provide all of the supporting material
23 today.
24 JUDGE ORIE: That's today.
25 MR. HARMON: Yes.
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1 JUDGE ORIE: So your 30 days' time limit starts today, at least if
2 later on today you receive all the supporting material.
3 I further inform you that a Status Conference will be scheduled
4 within 120 days, a Status Conference which serves an expeditious
5 preparation of the case.
6 Is there anything else you would like to address the Court?
7 MR. V. NEDIC: No.
8 JUDGE ORIE: The same for the Prosecution?
9 MR. HARMON: We have nothing further, Your Honour.
10 JUDGE ORIE: Yes. Then I will adjourn the proceedings at this
11 moment until further order.
12 --- Whereupon the Initial Appearance adjourned
13 at 2.55 p.m.
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