By Polly Johnson
Senior Desk Officer, Europe
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have proposed splitting former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic’s trial into two parts, a move intended to ensure that a verdict is reached. Mladic was arrested earlier this year and is awaiting trial for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in the Balkans, in which eight thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred in Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.
According to an assistant at ICTY’s prosecutor’s office, the first trial will address the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, while the second trial will address Mladic’s remaining crimes that occurred in Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Mladic, 69, was arrested on May 26 in Serbia after sixteen years on the run and in hiding. When he appeared in court in June, Mladic disputed the charges and became belligerent in the courtroom, calling the charges against him “obnoxious.”
Mladic has been accused of deliberately delaying the trial, by both complaining of his health and by refusing to accept a court-appointed lawyer. When he first appeared in court, he told the judge that he was “gravely ill.”
Some fear that Mladic’s tactics will delay the trial indefinitely, just as Slobodan Milosevic’s trial was delayed. Milosevic, the former president of Yugoslavia, died in custody while awaiting trial. Serge Brammertz, lead prosecutor at ICTY, said that splitting Mladic’s trial in two would minimize the possibility of his trial ending up like Milosevic’s. Prosecutors said that the first trial, dealing with Srebrenica, could be presented in one year.
Prosecutors filed the motion to split the trial in two on Tuesday. “Trying the Srebrenica indictment first will maximize the likelihood of completing a trial and having a judgment issued,” part of the court filing read.
Facing charges of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, Mladic could face life in prison if he is found guilty.
For more information, please see:
Deutsche Welle – UN prosecutor may fast-track war crimes trial for Mladic – 17 August 2011
International Business Times – Ratko Mladic Trial Update: Prosecutors Want Two War Crimes Cases – 17 August 2011
Reuters – Prosecutors seek two war crimes trials against Mladic – 17 August 2011
Sydney Morning Herald – UN prosecutor wants separate Mladic trials – 17 August 2011
