Ojdanic Lawyers Demand Stay of Proceedings

On May 25, a convoy including two members of Ojdanic's defence team was stopped by local residents while travelling to the village of Krushe e Vogel/Mala Krusa. When police tried to clear the way, the crowd reportedly responded by throwing rocks.



Ojdanic's lawyers say three policemen and at least 30 citizens were injured and that following the attack, the defence team was evacuated from Kosovo having completed less than a third of the work they had aimed to carry out.



Soon afterwards, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, informed them in writing that political clearance for the visit had been withdrawn, so it could not resume. In addition, the letter noted that due to "security concerns and the emotional impact" of the incident, UNMIK would need to be provided with detailed information in order to "make sound decisions and to ensure the smooth conduct of any similar visits in the future".



The lawyers say the affair demonstrates the impossibility of visiting crime scenes in Kosovo and interviewing witnesses there, and they insist that if the case went to court under these circumstances, it would be a violation of their client's right to a fair trial.



The trial is due to formally get under way on July 10, although the tribunal's summer recess begins just days after that. Judges gave the go-ahead this week for Ojdanic and his five co-accused, who are all currently on provisional release pending trial, to be freed from custody for much of the summer break.



Ojdanic is charged, along with other ex-members of the Serbian and Yugoslav political, military and police hierarchy, with responsibility for a campaign of violence in 1999 which drove hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians from their homes.