Tribunal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

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1 Wednesday, 6 February 2002

2 [Initial Appearance]

3 [Open session]

4 [The accused entered court]

5 --- Upon commencing at 2.30 p.m.

6 JUDGE KWON: Good afternoon, everybody. Madam Registrar, will you

7 please call the case?

8 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Case number

9 IT-95-8/1-I, the Prosecutor versus Dusan Fustar.

10 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Well, may I have the appearances,

11 please?

12 MS. BIBLES: Thank you, Your Honour. Camille Bibles and Mark

13 Vlasic are here for the Prosecution.

14 JUDGE KWON: And for the Defence?

15 MR. SCUDDER: Good afternoon, Your Honour. We are Theodore

16 Scudder and Dragan Ivetic for the defendant Dusan Fustar.

17 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Mr. Fustar, would you please stand up?

18 I'd like to make sure that you are hearing the proceedings in a language

19 that you speak and understand.

20 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] I can hear these proceedings in a

21 language that I do understand.

22 JUDGE KWON: May I have your full name and date of birth.

23 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] The 29th of June 1954, Dusan Fustar.

24 JUDGE KWON: Thank you, please be seated.

25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you.

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1 JUDGE KWON: My name is Kwon and I'm a judge of Trial Chamber 3 to

2 which this case was already assigned. This is the initial appearance to

3 be conducted in accordance with Rule 62 of the Rules of Procedure and

4 Evidence.

5 According to the Rules the first thing to deal with at this time

6 is to check the -- whether the right of the accused to counsel is

7 protected. However, as I note, Mr. Fustar is already being represented by

8 counsel. I don't think I need to mention it at this moment.

9 The next thing to be done is the reading out of the indictment.

10 It is the right of the accused to have the indictment read out in full in

11 a language he speaks and understands. And it is also the duty of the

12 Court to satisfy itself that the accused understands the indictment.

13 However, a kind of practice has developed in this Tribunal whereby an

14 accused can waive his right to have the indictment to be read out,

15 especially in a case where he is represented by counsel. Mr. Scudder and

16 Mr.Ivetic may I know if you have discussed this matter with your client and

17 whether Mr. Fustar wishes to have his indictment read out.

18 MR. SCUDDER: Yes, Your Honour, we have discussed it with

19 Mr. Fustar. He's informed us that he has read the indictment in his own

20 language and after discussing it with us, he would waive a formal reading

21 of all of the wording of the indictment.

22 JUDGE KWON: Very well, thank you. May I take your words as

23 meaning your that client understands the contends of the indictment?

24 MR. SCUDDER: Yes, that's correct.

25 JUDGE KWON: Very well. Then the next step will be the entry of a

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1 plea to the charges of the indictment. The accused may enter a plea

2 within 30 days of the initial appearance but he may enter a plea today,

3 the day of initial appearance, if he so wishes. Mr. Scudder what is your

4 client's intention? Does he wish to enter a plea today or do it later.

5 MR. SCUDDER: Mr. Fustar is prepared to enter his plea today, Your

6 Honour.

7 JUDGE KWON: Well, then if he wishes to enter a plea, yes, will

8 you please stand up again? I know that to my understanding there are 42

9 counts in this indictment but among them, Mr. Fustar is charged with seven

10 counts, that is namely counts 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11. So Madam

11 Registrar, could you put the counts, each count, to the accused, please?

12 THE REGISTRAR: Yes, Your Honour.

13 The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the

14 former Yugoslavia pursuant to her authority in Article 18 of the Statute

15 of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, charges

16 Dusan Fustar with:

17 Count 3: Persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds,

18 a crime against humanity punishable under Articles 5(h) and 7(1) of

19 the Statute of the Tribunal.

20 Count 4: Inhumane acts, a crime against humanity, punishable

21 under Articles 5(i) and 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

22 Count 5: Outrages upon personal dignity, a violation of the laws

23 and customs of war as recognised by Article 3(1)(c) of the Geneva

24 Conventions of 1949, punishable under Articles 3 and 7(1) of the Statute

25 of the Tribunal.

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1 In addition, Dusan Fustar is criminally responsible for the crimes

2 set forth in counts 3 to 5 pursuant to Article 7(3) of the Statute of the

3 Tribunal.

4 Count 8: Murder, a crime against humanity, punishable under

5 Articles 5(A), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal; and.

6 Count 9: Murder, a violation of the laws or customs of war, as

7 recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 punishable

8 under Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

9 Or in the alternative, Count 10: Inhuman acts, a crime against

10 humanity, punishable under Articles 5(i), 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of

11 the Tribunal.

12 Count 11: Cruel treatment, a violation of the laws or customs of

13 war, as recognised by Article 3(1)(a) of the Geneva Conventions of 1949,

14 punishable under Articles 3, 7(1) and 7(3) of the Statute of the Tribunal.

15 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Now you understand the content of the

16 charges, charges against you. And I'll put each count to you so please

17 give me your plea. The first count 3 is persecution as a crime against

18 humanity. How do you plead?

19 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

20 JUDGE KWON: The count 4 is inhumane acts as a crime against

21 humanity. How do you plead?

22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

23 JUDGE KWON: Very well. The count 5 is outrages upon human

24 dignity as violation of the laws or customs of war.

25 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

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1 JUDGE KWON: And count 8 is murder as crime against humanity. How

2 do you plead to that?

3 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

4 JUDGE KWON: And count 9 is murder as violation of the laws or

5 customs of war.

6 How do you plead to that?

7 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

8 JUDGE KWON: And count 10 is inhumane acts as a crime against

9 humanity. How do you plead to that?

10 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

11 JUDGE KWON: And count 11, finally, the cruel treatment as a

12 violation of the laws or customs of war. How do you plead to that?

13 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Not guilty, Your Honour.

14 JUDGE KWON: Very well. Please be seated.

15 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] Thank you.

16 JUDGE KWON: Well, the accused pleads not guilty to all the

17 charges.

18 And now I turn to the Prosecution. As you may be well aware, it

19 is the duty of the Prosecutor to make available all the supporting

20 materials, together with the accused's statements, within 30 days - is it

21 right? - to the Defence in a language the accused understands. Are there

22 any problems in disclosing these materials?

23 MS. BIBLES: No, Your Honour. In fact, we've met with learned

24 counsel about that issue and we have copies, both in English and B/C/S,

25 ready to hand to them today.

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1 JUDGE KWON: Oh, today?

2 MS. BIBLES: Yes.

3 JUDGE KWON: Yes. Very well. Are there any issues to raise --

4 for the parties to raise at this moment? From the Prosecution?

5 MS. BIBLES: Your Honour, I have two additional issues. Both are

6 primarily a matter of courtesy to the Court.

7 First, as we have indicated in the Banovic case, three of the

8 original accused in this case have been resolved and therefore we are

9 amending the indictment to make it a more precise document for trial in

10 this matter. We are additionally amending the indictment to bring it into

11 conformity with some of the recent court rulings, and that would apply

12 obviously with this accused as well.

13 Second, Your Honour, we are -- have been advised or were aware

14 that members of learned counsel's law firm have represented other

15 individuals in this matter, and we have again discussed this with them,

16 and we would just like to put on record or have them discuss with the

17 Court the fact that their client is aware of that issue and is willing to

18 proceed with them as counsel.

19 JUDGE KWON: Very well. Then you have -- certainly you have your

20 say. Yes, you have the floor.

21 MR. SCUDDER: Your Honour, both Mr. Ivetic and I are members of a

22 firm in Chicago, United States, with a Mr. Jovan Ostojic, who represented

23 another man in this case, his name was Kolundzija. We have discussed with

24 Mr. Fustar that we both practise law with Mr. Ostojic, who represented

25 Mr. Kolundzija, and he is aware of that and he wishes to proceed with us

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1 as his counsel. He does not see any problem with that. I believe he's

2 fully aware of the circumstances.

3 JUDGE KWON: Very well. Do you have any opinion about the

4 amendment of the Prosecution?

5 MR. SCUDDER: No. The Prosecutors explained that to us before we

6 came here today, and we understand that.

7 JUDGE KWON: Yes. Very well. I have one thing to inform you,

8 that according to the rule 65 ter, a Pre-Trial Judge may be assisted in

9 the performance of his duties by one of the Senior Legal Officers assigned

10 to chambers. And in this regard, I would like Mrs. Yvonne Featherstone, a

11 SLO assigned to Trial Chamber III, to meet with the parties on a regular

12 basis to discuss matters for the preparation of the trial and the -- such

13 as the establishment of work plan or something like that. And my

14 understanding is that Ms. Featherstone has already made an appointment

15 with the Prosecution and Defence for the Banovic brothers on, if my memory

16 is correct, 18th of February, not far from now. So I would like to

17 request, especially Defence counsel, to take time and to meet her, and to

18 join the meeting, to discuss everything about this procedure.

19 If anything -- there is nothing to raise for the parties --

20 Oh, Mr. Fustar, is there anything you'd like to raise at this

21 moment regarding the proceedings or anything else?

22 THE ACCUSED: [Interpretation] No.

23 JUDGE KWON: Thank you. Then this case is adjourned.

24 Well, I'm sorry, the next Status Conference is fixed on -- for

25 Banovic brothers, on Friday, 10th of May, 2002, this year, and certainly

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1 this case will be linked up with that case.

2 The case is adjourned.

3 --- Whereupon the Initial Appearance

4 adjourned at 2.43 p.m.

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