|
WHY PROSECUTION FAILED TO
PROVE WHAT 'EVERYBODY KNOWS' - PART THREE
OBVIOUS NEED NOT BE TRUE
The Hague, 09.04.2008.
Ramush Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, three former KLA
commanders, were charged with dozens of murder. The prosecution called the most evidence
and most witnesses to prove the murder of a Kosovo Albanian woman, Sanije Balaj. A total
of thirteen witnesses took the stand to testify about her murder. This is one of the
reasons why the Trial Chamber dealt with her case most comprehensively in the judgment
acquitting Haradinaj and Balaj and convicting Brahimaj, who was sentenced to six years in
prison, on two out of thirty-seven counts in the indictment. Another reason for this focus
was because the Trial Chamber wanted to show that things that are "obvious' or that... |
|
|
|
WHY DID PROSECUTION FAIL TO
PROVE WHAT 'EVERYBODY KNOWS' - PART TWO
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'PROBABILITY' AND EVIDENCE 'BEYOND
REASONABLE DOUBT'
The Hague, 08.04.2008.
The failure of the prosecution to prove who killed 30 Albanians, Serbs
and Roma whose bodies were found in September 1998 in the Radonjic Lake canal is one of
the reasons why the Trial Chamber acquitted former KLA commanders Ramush Haradinaj and
Idriz Balaj. Only Lahi Brahimaj was convicted on only two of the 37 counts in the
indictment. The prosecution claimed that they were all killed while 'they were in the
KLA hands'. The defense denied this allegation, noting that it was possible that the
bodies had been planted by the Serbian police or army. The Trial Chamber rejected the
defense claims about 'planted bodies', but it did not accept... |
| More >>> |
More >>> |
WHY DID PROSECUTION FAIL TO PROVE WHAT 'EVERYBODY KNOWS'
The Hague, 07.04.2008.
Insistence on the fact that the trial went on in an atmosphere of fear
and on substantial problems both the Trial Chamber and the prosecution faced in dealing
with witnesses who didn't feel safe despite the protection measures sounded almost as an
excuse for the judgment delivered to Haradinaj, Balaj and Brahimaj. Haradinaj and Balaj
were acquitted and Brahimaj was sentenced on only two of the thirty-seven counts in the
indictment. The judgment came as a surprise to those who had not followed the trial,
causing resentment among those who needed no evidence to 'know' that the... |
WELCOME TO IWPR'S TRIBUNAL
UPDATE No. 545
April 4, 2008
SERBIAN ANGER AT HARADINAJ ACQUITTAL Not-guilty verdict in case against
former Kosovo premier provokes storm in Serbia. By Merdijana Sadovic in Sarajevo and
Aleksandar Roknic in Belgrade. COMMENT: ICTY ARCHIVE MUST BE OPEN TO ALL Political leaders
should seek full and open access to tribunal archive rather than debate its final resting
place. By Robert Donia in Michigan and Edina Becirevic in Sarajevo. SIX CROATIANS INDICTED
FOR WAR CRIMES Human rights groups say "better late than never", but veterans'
associations maintain no crimes were committed. By Goran... |
| More >>> |
MS Word (43kb) >>> |
FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT
Fourteenth annual report 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
02/4/2008, HCHRS
The fourteenth annual report of the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia covers the period from 1 August 2006 to 31 July 2007. During the
reporting period, the Tribunal adopted a number of concrete measures, including various
rule amendments aimed at increasing the efficiency and efficacy of trial and appeal
proceedings. For the first time in the Tribunal's history, the three Trial Chambers... |
CARLA DEPARTS. FINALLY
William Montgomery
6 January 2008
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
has a solid list of accomplishments. There are many genuine war criminals who are either
serving well-deserved sentences or awaiting trial. The massive amount of documentation
made available in the indictments, judgments and trials themselves have helped to create
an invaluable base of information of the terrible events of those years. Some of the
evidence which has surfaced, such as the videotape of Milosevic; greeting members of the
Red Berets for their clandestine services in Bosnia and Croatia, for example, is
priceless. At the same time, the ICTY has fallen short... |
| Acrobat PDF (197kb) >>> |
More >>> |
THE CAPITULATION OF THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL
Marko Attila Hoare, June 2005
06/27/2005
The recent announcement, that the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia will not be issuing any more indictments against war-crimes
suspects, is a disgrace. As a Research Officer, I worked at the Tribunal in 2001 on the
case against Slobodan Milosevic. I believed in what the Tribunal was trying to accomplish,
and continue to do so. Yet this announcement amounts to the Tribunal's capitulation: with
the sole exception of Milosevic himself, the men most responsible for the bloodshed in the
former Yugoslavia have escaped justice. For this there is no justification, either in
terms of principle, or expediency, or force of circumstance. The Tribunal has scored some
notable successes. The principal Bosnian... |
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S CONCERNS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
"COMPLETION STRATEGY" OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA
06/27/2005, HCHRS
Amnesty International believes that the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former
Yugoslavia has played a major role in addressing impunity for war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide committed during the violent break-up of Yugoslavia and, through its
judgments and decisions, has contributed significantly to the development of
international, humanitarian and criminal law. Under the terms of the "completion
strategy", laid down in UN Security Council Resolutions 1503 and 1534, the Tribunal
has completed all investigations and indictments for war crimes, crimes against humanity
and genocide at the end of 2004 and is... |
| More >>> |
Acrobat PDF (122kb) >>> |
|
|
|
