Tolimir's Nightly Health Monitoring Ends
Former Bosnian Serb general has consistently complained that night-time checks disturb him.
Tolimir's Nightly Health Monitoring Ends
Former Bosnian Serb general has consistently complained that night-time checks disturb him.
Former Bosnian Serb general Zdravko Tolimir will no longer be subjected to frequent night-time monitoring in his prison cell, a practice which he has long complained disrupted his sleep.
Judges ruled on August 27 that while medical opinions on the matter differed, Tolimir’s “well being is impaired in a way that, for the time being, is not justified by the beneficial effects an intervention resulting from the nightly checks may have on him”.
He has been monitored often as every 30 minutes during the night since he arrived in The Hague in 2007.
The judges said they reserved the right to resume the nightly monitoring if there was “any indication that the accused willingly puts his life at risk [or] ceases to take a responsible attitude towards his own health”.
They said Tolimir must sign a written statement confirming his refusal of the night-time checks.
Tolimir’s medical condition has not been disclosed publicly, but judges note he has previously refused to take medication or wear a “low frequency device” on his finger that would make the nightly monitoring less necessary.
Earlier this week, the court registry asked that Tolimir undergo psychiatric testing to determine whether he was able “to provide his informed consent” in relation to the written statement. Judges denied the request, explaining they could see no reason why Tolimir refused nightly checks “other than to have undisturbed sleep”.
The registry confirmed that as of September 1, the monitoring had ceased.
Tolimir, the former assistant commander for military intelligence and security in the Bosnian Serb army, is charged with eight counts including genocide, extermination, murder, and the forced transfer and deportation of Bosniaks from Srebrenica and Zepa in July 1995.
Rachel Irwin is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.
