Martic Lawyers Seek Access to Babic Inquiry Documents

In a submission filed on June 14, the defence team say they want to get hold of statements taken during the investigation – led by the tribunal's vice president, Judge Kevin Parker – from tribunal prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff, from Babic's lawyer, Peter Michael Mueller, and from Babic's wife and two adult children.



Martic's lawyers note the inquiry's findings that individuals "more familiar" with Babic thought he seemed "particularly tired and not quite himself" on the last day of his testimony prior to his death. They also point to the findings that Babic's son thought his father felt "used" by the prosecution, and that Mueller had spoken with the prosecution in the past about the fact that Babic might be suicidal.



The defence counsel argue that having access to statements from the individuals in question could help them form arguments concerning the reliability and credibility of the evidence that Babic gave in the Martic trial prior to his death.



They also say the statements could be relevant to an appeal that they hope to file against the trial chamber's rejection of an earlier attempt by them to have Babic's testimony removed from the evidence against their client.



Babic admitted having been responsible for crimes during his time as a senior Croatian Serb politician in the early Nineties. He also testified in trial proceedings against the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and the Bosnian Serb politician Momcilo Krajisnik.



Martic's lawyers point out in their latest submission that they are content for the statements that they seek to be redacted prior to being handed over, in order to remove information concerning the whereabouts of Babic's family, who are in hiding.



Also this week, Martic's defence team asked judges not to insist on a recently-published trial schedule which would see prosecutors concluding their case by June 20 and the defence making their opening statement on July 7 and starting to present their own evidence on July 10, with various other deadlines set in the meantime.



Complaining of funding problems and a lack of staff, the defence lawyers said the timetable does not allow them enough time to complete tasks such as drawing up a witness list for their case.