Registrar: 'Stela' Is Not Indigent
Tribunal Update 147: Last Week in The Hague (11-16 October, 1999)
Registrar: 'Stela' Is Not Indigent
Tribunal Update 147: Last Week in The Hague (11-16 October, 1999)
Based on information gathered from "independent and reliable sources," her decision found that "the apparent lifestyle of the accused in terms of movable and immovable property he owns at the present time or he has owned in the recent past, appears to be above average".
The Registrar noted that information on Martinovic's material status, gathered from himself as well as from "relevant sources from the areas of former Yugoslavia", is "partly contradictory" on the precise number of luxury cars and coffee shops he owns in the Mostar area.
It was also unclear about his profession and income at the time of his arrest. In addition, it was stated that the authorities of the Republic of Croatia had failed to provide the Registrar with additional information as to the indigent status of the accused when he appeared before Zagreb Country Court aimed at determining the accused's financial status at the time. Since Seric represented Martinovic in Croatian courts, the Registrar drew from this "the presumption that the accused was paying his defence at the time of his transfer to The Hague," ...and that therefore, he can continue to pay for it.
