Arkan's Lawyer Contacts Tribunal Prosecutor

Contrary to the strategy of the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which has refused to receive an international arrest warrant for Zeljko ‘Arkan’ Raznjatovic -- the man himself has chosen not to ignore the Tribunal.

Raznjatovic has, through his lawyer, already contacted the Office of the Prosecutor. Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt last week refused to reveal the name of the indicted paramilitary leader’s lawyer, but confirmed that on the basis of this contact, he expected to receive Raznjatovic’s personal affidavit soon.

'No Pressure To Indict Milosevic'

Speaking on April 7, Deputy Prosecutor Graham Blewitt maintained that, contrary to the impression observers may have got from some of the statements given by leading western politicians, the OTP was not under political pressure to indict Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

"If the evidence is there that's going to support a charge, we would not hesitate to bring an indictment and we would not have regard to the position of political leaders," he said.

However he added that within the OTP and in its contacts with governments and organisations dealing with the crisis, there are "talks on options and possibilities." The OTP, Blewitt told Tribunal Update, "wants to hear the opinions of other actors even if they are not necessarily binding for the OTP itself."

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