1 Wednesday, 12 March 2003

2 [Status Conference]

3 [Open session]

4 --- Upon commencing at 1.30 p.m.

5 JUDGE MUMBA: Please call the case.

6 THE REGISTRAR: Good afternoon. This is case number IT-01-47-PT,

7 the Prosecutor versus Enver Hadzihasanovic, Mehmed Alagic, and Amir

8 Kubura.

9 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. May I have the parties, please. The

10 Prosecution.

11 MR. WITHOPF: Good afternoon, Your Honour. Good afternoon,

12 counsel. For the Prosecution appear Mr. David Re, trial attorney,

13 Ms. Kimberly Fleming, trial support, and I, Ekkehard Withopf, acting

14 senior trial attorney.

15 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.

16 The Defence. Yes, the Defence.

17 MS. RESIDOVIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honour. My

18 name is Edina Residovic, for Mr. Enver Hadzihasanovic; I also want to

19 apologise for my colleague, Stefane Bourgon, because of some previous

20 appointments for the Defence, he's unable to attend. Thank you.

21 MS. VIDOVIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honours. My

22 name is Vasvija Vidovic. Together with Mr. John Jones, I represented

23 General Mehmed Alagic.

24 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes.

25 MR. IBRISIMOVIC: [Interpretation] Good afternoon, Your Honours.

1 My name is Fahrudin Ibrisimovic, counsel, together with Mr. Dixon, we

2 represent the defence of Mr. Kubura.

3 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.

4 I understand the Defence of the late Mr. Mehmed Alagic has

5 information to -- for the Trial Chamber.

6 MS. VIDOVIC: [Interpretation] Your Honour, I have a very sad duty

7 today, to inform you officially that General Mehmed Alagic, due to a heart

8 attack, he died on Friday, the 7th of March, 2003, in Sanski Most. I have

9 prepared a death certificate, and I will hand it over to you. And I have

10 already handed it over to the Prosecutor, at a meeting we had earlier, I

11 provided a copy of this certificate. All other information, I have agreed

12 that it would be through the state organs that this would be forwarded to

13 the Trial Chamber, so this would include all the circumstances, report on

14 all the circumstances in relation to the death of General Alagic. I feel

15 the need here to say a few words on behalf of the family of General

16 Alagic, and in my own name.

17 General Mehmed Alagic and so many other accused who come before

18 this Tribunal and who demonstrate that this respect for this Tribunal, he

19 respected the Tribunal. He expected that this Tribunal would come with a

20 just verdict, and he hoped for it. He was absolutely convinced that the

21 verdict would be just. His family has asked me to pass on their regrets

22 that he's not able to come here and to defend himself and his name.

23 Whatever the case, we hope that the Prosecutor will withdraw the name of

24 General Alagic from the indictment and that today this will be confirmed

25 at this Status Conference. Thank you.

1 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you. The Trial Chamber records its

2 condolences on the death of Mr. Mehmed Alagic and requests the Defence

3 counsel to pass on the condolences to the family.

4 The Trial Chamber would also like to record that all the reports

5 on conditions for provisional release regarding Mr. -- the late Mehmed

6 Alagic were positive. There were no problems at all. He complied with

7 all the conditions that the Trial Chamber had set. And this in itself

8 shows that he was well disposed towards the proceedings before this

9 Tribunal. It's unfortunate that he has passed away before the proceedings

10 even started or were completed.

11 Our deep condolences to the family and also to the Defence counsel

12 and his friends and all those who knew him.

13 The Trial Chamber would advise that the death certificate should

14 be formally filed so that it's formally on record, in order for the

15 Prosecution to take the relevant steps they need to take.

16 Yes, we'll proceed now with the rest of the programme for the

17 Status Conference.

18 The Trial Chamber has received the report of the Senior Legal

19 Officer on the meeting which the parties had with the Senior Legal

20 Officer.

21 [Trial Chamber and registrar confer]

22 JUDGE MUMBA: The Trial Chamber on pending motion, we're still

23 awaiting the decision of the Appeals Chamber. But one motion regarding --

24 I think there's one motion pending which the Trial Chamber should be able

25 to release, I think in two weeks' time, regarding the archives. Yes. I

1 was informed that the problems with the Sarajevo archives have been sorted

2 out between the parties. There is nothing outstanding. On the Tuzla

3 archives, I have been informed that the Prosecution should be able to

4 release the documents which they have in their possession within two

5 weeks.

6 Is that so?

7 MR. WITHOPF: That's correct, Your Honour.

8 JUDGE MUMBA: On the progress of the preparations, according to

9 the meeting, dates have been agreed upon for the proposed amendments of

10 the indictment by the Prosecution, and I'm informed that the date of 25th

11 March as the deadline has been agreed to by the Prosecution.

12 MR. WITHOPF: That's also correct, Your Honour. The Prosecution

13 will make a few amendments to the current amended indictment and that will

14 happen prior to or on 25th of March.

15 JUDGE MUMBA: Yes. And that the Defence will be able to respond

16 any matters raised therein by the 25th of April.

17 And then the next preparations, where we're trying to see whether

18 this trial can start in the summer of this year, the parties have agreed

19 on a schedule, indicating that the pre-trial brief by the OTP should be

20 filed by 2nd June, and the pre-trial brief by the Defence, by the 1st of

21 July, and that the date of 21st July is proposed for the Pre-Trial

22 Conference, or a date during that week, and that it is hoped that the

23 start of the trial will be directly after the summer recess. And the

24 parties have agreed to this, I take it. Yes.

25 So a Scheduling Order will be issued, according to the schedule

1 agreed upon, unless there are other matters to be raised.

2 Regarding the provisional release of Mr. Hadzihasanovic and

3 Mr. Kubura, the Trial Chamber notes that the reports have been positive.

4 There are no problems so far. And the two of them have also complied with

5 all the conditions for provisional release.

6 Are there any other matters the parties would like to raise? The

7 Prosecution?

8 MR. WITHOPF: Your Honour, not from the side of the Prosecution.

9 JUDGE MUMBA: Thank you.

10 The Defence?

11 MS. RESIDOVIC: [Interpretation] There are no other issues by the

12 Defence. Thank you.

13 JUDGE MUMBA: There being no other issues, the Status Conference

14 is adjourned, and the Court will rise.

15 --- Whereupon the Status Conference adjourned

16 at 1.41 p.m.

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