Sarajevo Shelling Trial Set to Start

At the time of the attacks, between August 1994 and November 1995, Milosevic was commander of the Bosnian Serb army’s Sarajevo Romanija Corps. He is charged with four counts of crimes against humanity and three of violations of the laws or customs of war.



In a status conference held this week to review pre-trial preparations, Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti emphasised that every accused was entitled to an expeditious trial and said that this case in particular was “practically ready” to begin.



But Milosevic’s defence lawyer Branislav Tapuskovic complained that the prosecution had yet to disclose the names and statements of approximately 30 per cent of the witnesses they intended to call, a factor which seriously impeded the defence’s preparations. In particular, he said prosecutors had not informed them of the names of seven experts and 22 former United Nations employees in Bosnia who they had asked to testify.



Prosecutor Chester Stamp denied that this was the case, claiming that it was only witnesses with protected identities who had been put forward under a numbered pseudonym.



Milosevic’s predecessor as Romanija Corps commander, Stanislav Galic, was sentenced by the tribunal to 20 years’ imprisonment in December 2003 for his role in the Sarajevo atrocities. His case is currently under appeal.