Margetic, Serbia/NATO, Glavas, Rajak

By IWPR staff in The Hague (TU No 479, 1-Dec-06)

Margetic, Serbia/NATO, Glavas, Rajak

By IWPR staff in The Hague (TU No 479, 1-Dec-06)

Friday, 1 December, 2006
IWPR

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Margetic was indicted on September 11 this year, for publishing lists of protected witnesses in the case against former Croatian Defence Council, HVO, commander Tihomir Blaskic on a personal web site between July 7 and August 2.



According to the indictment, Margetic received explicit warning that the material was confidential and not to be published.



On the site, Margetic himself acknowledged that the document he had received was “confidential”, but further stated that the prosecution knew he would publish it sooner or later because he had published other confidential documents before. Margetic was previously accused in another tribunal contempt of court case.



At his initial appearance on October 13, Margetic entered a plea of not guilty.





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The tribunal’s chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte announced on November 29 that she was “surprised and disappointed” by NATO’s invitation to Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace.



The PfP initiative is considered a first step toward joining NATO, and, eventually, the European Union.



In the past, Del Ponte has objected to Serbia’s membership in the western alliance, citing Belgrade’s failure arrest Hague indictees such as General Ratko Mladic and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.



Prosecution spokesman Anton Nikiforov told Serbia’s B92 radio that by allowing Serbia to join the PfP, the country has been “rewarded for its non-cooperation with the tribunal”.



He also noted that Del Ponte was not consulted about the decision.





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Former Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, deputy and parliamentary deputy Branimir Glavas has been forbidden by doctors from attending a December 1 witness hearing at the Zagreb county court after his health deteriorated following a five-week hunger strike.



Glavas began his hunger strike after being detained on suspicion of involvement in war crimes against civilians in the eastern city of Osijek in 1991.



Glavas’ lawyer told Balkans news agency Hina that he would ask the court’s investigating judge to temporarily suspend proceedings until Glavas is allowed to attend.



He suggested that witness hearings be held at the prison hospital if Glavas was unable to go to court, but a Zagreb County Court spokesman said all proceedings must be conducted in the court building.





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The Sarajevo cantonal court this week sentenced former Bosnian Serb police officer Novo Rajak to 14 years in prison for crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim civilians between 1992 and 1995.



Rajak, an officer in the eastern town of Visegrad, was convicted of inhumane treatment, intimidation, illegal detention, expelling civilians, destruction of property and physical and psychological abuse of Muslim civilians in 1992 and 1995.



Rajak was also found to have participated in Bosnian Serb military attacks on Muslim villages near Visegrad.
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