At the status conference, Radovan Karadzic has announced his intention to contest everything at his upcoming trial, including the agreed facts proposed by the proposition, with the exception of ‘the weather’. ‘If they say it was sunny, I will agree that it was’, Karadzic said


At the status conference in the case against the former Republika Srpska president Radovan Karadzic, the Trial Chamber today set forth its operative plan for the rest of the pre-trial stage. The prosecution was ordered to submit the final version of its pre-trial motion by 18 May 2009. A week later the prosecution is expected to file a complete list of exhibits it intends to use at the trial. The deadline for the delivery of a total of 26 expert reports was also set. Some of those reports have already been disclosed to Karadzic, but most of them will be submitted by the end of April 2009. The remaining two or three expert reports must be disclosed by the end of May 2009. The beginning of the trial was not mentioned, but Judge Bonomy indicated that the Trial Chamber intended to issue a written order specifying some other deadlines in the days to come.

Karadzic today said that he would contest all the expert reports, adding he would get an equal number of experts as the prosecution. He asked for the money to do so. Rejecting the so-called uncontroversial or agreed facts suggested by the prosecution, Karadzic indicated he intended to contest everything at the trial ‘except the weather’.

Karadzic asserts that he had new ‘irrefutable evidence’ about the alleged immunity deal with Richard Holbrooke which was agreed on by the US administration and all of the international community. As soon as he completes his investigation, Karadzic said, he will file another motion challenging the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to try him because he was guaranteed immunity.

As the status conference reached its end, Karadzic complained about the ‘unlawful actions’ of the OTP: they ordered the BH prosecution to search the houses and apartments of his ‘close and distant relatives’ in search of documents that might be used at the forthcoming trial. Karadzic alleges that the prosecution was trying to ‘rob him of evidence’ he was gathering for his defense and to intimidate his relatives, friends and potential witnesses.

After a brief consultation with German judge Flugge and French judge Picard, presiding judge Bonomy noted that ‘there apparently is no unlawful activity involved’ in what Karadzic described. Bonomy told the accused to draft a motion with the evidence supporting his allegations if he wanted the Trial Chamber to take them into consideration.

The next status conference has been tentatively scheduled for 6 May 2009.

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