Judges Say Stanisic Fit for Trial

Judges in the case of Jovica Stanisic have ruled that the former aide to ex-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is fit to stand trial despite recent health problems.



The Hague tribunal ruled that the accused will follow proceedings from the court’s detention unit via video-conference link until he is fit to attend in person. He will also have a telephone line direct to the courtroom enabling him to contact his defence lawyer at any time.



The start of proceedings against Stanisic and his co-accused Franko Simatovic have been postponed several times since they were due to begin a month ago, after Stanisic was admitted to hospital suffering from kidney stones, osteoporosis and severe depression.



Stanisic and Simatovic are accused of “the forcible and permanent removal of the majority of non-Serbs, principally Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina through commission of the crimes of persecutions, murder, deportations and inhumane acts” between 1991 and 1995.



Stanisic was head of Serbian state security between December 1991 and October 1998, while Simatovic was in charge of its special operations unit during the period relevant to the indictment.



Throughout his illness, Stanisic has consistently refused to waive his right to be present at the trial, prompting judges to rule that his “health condition is a factor that persistently interferes with the right to a fair and expeditious trial, warranting derogation from the right to be present in court”.



The fact that Stanisic’s health is also holding up proceedings against his co-accused, Simatovic, led judges to rule that “[Simatovic] too is entitled to a fair and expeditious trial”. The trial will now begin on Monday April 14.



Although the judges decided that this was the best way to proceed, they insisted that the video link was a temporary measure to be employed until Stanisic is fit to attend court.



“If he does not [attend], in spite of being able to do so, he will be taken to waive his right to be present in court,” said the judges.



Simon Jennings is an IWPR reporter in The Hague.