ICTY Prosecutor Visits Serbia, Requests Further Cooperation

By Sarah Benczik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia - Serge Brammertz, chief U.N. prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), announced Thursday that his office was looking into the possibility of bringing an appeal against ICTY's recent acquittal of Ramush Haradinaj.  Haradinaj, former Kosovo Prime Minister, was acquitted earlier this month of all charges of killing Serbs during the Kosovo war.  Brammertz's announcement coincided with his first visit to Serbia since taking over as prosecutor from Carla Del Ponte. 

Brammertz reported that his office is currently studying ICTY's 300-page judgment to assess possible grounds for appeal.  The court cited "vague, inconclusive or nonexistent" evidence as the reason for acquittal while acknowledging that many witnesses were too afraid to testify even after the court indicted them for contempt. 

At the same time, Brammerz insisted that Serbia arrest and transfer of four fugitives still at large: former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who allegedly orchestrated the 1995 Srebenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims; former Bosnian Serb police commander Stojan Zupljanin; and Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, wanted for war crimes in Croatia. 

Serbian officials warned that Haradinaj's aquittal diminished the chances that top fugitives would be arrested any time soon.  Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica said that the court's validity had to be examined in light of Haradinaj's acquittal, which he characterized as anti-Serb.

Brammertz's report on Serbia's progress toward arresting the fugitives has far-reaching political implications for Serbia: a positive report would give the EU the opportunity to offer Serbia a pre-accession pact prior to the Serbian elections next month.  Polls currently show pro-EU accession candidates marginally trailing the nationalists, whose platforms include strengthening ties with Russia and pulling out of EU accession talks until EU members denounce the legitimacy of Kosovo's independence.   

For more information, please see:

Impunity Watch - Former Kosovo Rebel Leader Acquitted of War Crimes Charges - 4 April 2008

International Herald Tribune - Serbia: New UN war crimes prosecutor urges arrest of fugitives - 17 April 2008

Reuters - War crimes prosecutor urges more progress by Serbia - 17 April 2008

Southeast European Times - UN prosecutor tells Serbia remaining war crimes fugitives must be captured - 18 April 2008