Briefly Noted

Lawyer Steven Kay said he was still investigating whether it was possible that these witnesses might attend voluntarily.

Kay told the judges on April 15 that he had been in touch with western diplomatic missions to see whether it would be possible to ensure such voluntary appearances.

Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson warned Milosevic that if he wants the Chamber to summon the witnesses, written request would have to be filed in accordance with the court’s rules. The defence would also have to show that the appropriate conditions have been met. But he made it clear that any properly submitted request would be given serious consideration.

“It doesn't matter who the person is,” Judge Robinson said. “If the requirements are met, the Chamber will issue a subpoena for that person.”

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Former Bosnian Serb army chief of security, Ljubomir Beara, has pleaded not guilty to all counts in an amended indictment in connection with the murder of over 7,000 Muslim inhabitants of Srebrenica in July 1995.

He now faces separate charges of genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide. In the original indictment, confirmed back in March 2002, he was charged with genocide or, alternatively, complicity in genocide.

Elsewhere, examples of certain specific murders have been removed from the document. And it has been made explicit that the charge of forcible transfer, a crime against humanity, relates to the “forced bussing” both of women and children to Muslim-controlled areas and of men to the sites of execution.

The remaining changes are largely linguistic and appear to be intended mainly as clarification.

Beara pleaded not guilty to all counts in the original indictment in November. He was transferred to The Hague in October last year, after being on the run for almost two years.

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Former senior Bosnian Serb army officer Radivoje Miletic has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the massacre of over 7,000 Muslim residents of Srebrenica in 1995.

Miletic is charged, along with two other senior officers Milan Gvero and Zdravko Tolimir, with four counts of crimes against humanity for murder, persecutions, inhumane acts and deportation; and with one count of violations of the laws or customs of war for murder.

The indictment against them was one of the last six to be submitted by The Hague prosecutors last year, and it also refers to the Bosnian Serb army’s decision to drive the Muslim population from the Zepa enclave soon after Srebrenica events.

General Gvero has also pleaded not guilty, while General Tolimir remains at large.

The three accused were close associates of wartime Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, who remains at large having been indicted by the tribunal for genocide almost a decade ago.

This is the third time Miletic has appeared before a judge since he surrendered to the Tribunal at the end of February. He postponed entering his plea until he had resolved problems with the appointment of his lawyer – Natasa Favaux Ivanovic from the Paris Bar Association

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A former leader of Serb paramilitaries in Foca, Gojko Jankovic, pleaded not guilty on April 15 to charges of rape and sexual enslavement.

Jankovic, who surrendered to the Hague tribunal in March, after nine years on the run, is jointly charged with Radovan Stankovic – already in the tribunal’s custody – and Dragan Zelenovic, who is still at large.

The indictment alleges that following the takeover of Foca in southeastern Bosnia by Serb forces in April 1992, military police started arresting Muslim and Croat inhabitants. Muslim women children and the elderly were detained in houses, motels and long-term detention centres. Many of the women were subjected to sexual assaults, including rapes.

Jankovic faces seven counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of violations of the laws or customs of war both for his own actions and those of the soldiers he commanded.

Last year, Hague tribunal prosecutors asked for the case to be referred to the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The indictment for rapes at Foca also included Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Zoran Vukovic, who have already been tried and have received prison terms ranging from 12 to 28 years.

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Former Bosnian Serb military officer Vujadin Popovic arrived in The Hague this week to stand trial for his alleged role in the killing of over 7,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995.

Popovic, who was transferred to the detention unit on April 14, faces one count of genocide or, alternatively, complicity to commit genocide; four counts of crimes against humanity; and one count of violations of the laws or customs of war.

Prosecutors say Popovic was the assistant commander for security of the Drina Corps of the Bosnian Serb army – the VRS – at the time. They allege that his position gave him responsibility for dealing with Bosnian Muslim prisoners from Srebrenica.

The VRS are alleged to have captured, detained, summarily executed and buried Bosnian Muslim men from Srebrenica enclave and forcibly transferred Bosnian women and children out of the enclave.

Popovic is the latest of at least half a dozen Serb suspects to surrender themselves to the Hague tribunal since January 2005, as the Serb authorities have come under increasing pressure from western governments.

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The Tribunal has granted provisional release to four former top Yugoslav leaders accused of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.

Former president of Serbia Milan Milutinovic, former deputy prime minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Sainovic, former chief of staff of the Yugoslav army General Dragoljub Ojdanic and former commander of the Yugoslav army forces in Kosovo General Vladimir Lazarevic all left the Hague on April 15 despite an attempt by prosecutors to appeal their release.

They face trial on charges relating to the murder and forced deportations of thousands of Kosovo Albanian civilians by Serb forces in 1998 and 1999.

Lazarevic has been charged along with three other Serb generals, two of whom – Nebojsa Pavkovic and Vlastimir Djordjevic – are currently still at large. General Sreten Lukic arrived at The Hague early last week, amid speculations that his arrival may have not been a voluntary surrender, as Belgrade has suggested.

In agreeing to the provisional release, the judges noted that the prosecution has confirmed its intention to join Lazarevic and his co-accused’s case with that of the three others, which may delay the start of the trial until 2006.

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The trial of Beqe Beqaj – a Kosovo Albanian brought to the Hague tribunal on three counts of contempt of court - is due to start on April 25 with a pre-trial conference on April 22, the court announced.

Beqe Beqaj is accused of orchestrating a campaign to intimidate potential witnesses against three former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA – Fatmir Limaj, Isak Musliu and Haradin Bala – who are currently on trial in The Hague.

The three are answering charges in connection with the alleged mistreatment and murder of Serbs and perceived Albanian collaborators at a prison camp in the village of Lapusnik in Kosovo in 1998.

The Office of the Prosecutor alleges that Beqaj passed messages from the accused - housed in the tribunal’s detention centre - to two potential witnesses in the case, demanding that they withdraw their testimony against him. Beqaj is said to be related to the accused Musliu.

The case follows remarks by Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte that witness intimidation has proved to be a serious problem in Kosovo.