After three minutes in open session, for the parties’ appearances, the court went into closed session for half an hour, to discuss the reasons for the failure of the accused Stanisic to appear. The pre-trial conference and the trial of the two former Serbian state security service chiefs were postponed until tomorrow


Jovica Stanisic, former chief of the Serbian state security service, failed to appear before the court at the start of the trial for crimes committed by special police and paramilitary units in Croatia and BH. Stanisic is charged with these crimes together with his former deputy Franko Simatovic.

Reasons for Stanisic’s absence were discussed in closed session; the court was in open session for less than three minutes, for the appearances of the parties: prosecutor Dermot Groome, Stanisic’s defense counsel Geert Jan Knoops and Simatovic’s defense counsel Zoran Jovanovic.

The indictment against Stanisic and Simatovic was filed in May 2003. After they arrived in The Hague, they both pleaded not guilty to all five counts in indictment charging them with persecution, killing, deportation and inhuman acts qualified as crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war.

In December 2004, Stanisic and Simatovic were granted provisional release. In March 2006, Stanisic’s defense filed a motion asking that the accused be declared ‘unfit to stand trial’. The defense called on the Trial Chamber to ‘drop all the charges against Stanisic in light of his ill health that precludes the possibility of a fair and expeditious trial’. Alternatively, if the Trial Chamber decided to reject this request, the defense urged it to ‘arrange for a trial where the accused will have the best possible conditions to prepare his defense and to understand the charges against him’.

In April 2006, the motions were rejected as ’premature’ and Stanisic’s defense filed them again in early 2008. They were discussed in closed session two weeks ago. No decision on the issue has been disclosed to the public yet, but the fact that the trial was scheduled to open on Monday was interpreted as an indication that the Trial Chamber considered Stanisic fit to stand trial.

The pre-trial conference and the opening statement of the prosecution were postponed until tomorrow, when both of the accused are expected to appear in the courtroom.

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