Former Serbian state security service chief Jovica Stanisic ‘is not receiving adequate treatment’ at the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade during his provisional release, the prosecution contends, calling for him to return to The Hague and to undergo therapy at the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, Pieter Baan Centrum in Utrecht


The prosecution has requested that Jovica Stanisic, former Serbian State Security Service chief, return from his provisional release to receive appropriate medical treatment at the Dutch Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Pieter Baan Centrum in Utrecht. Stanisic was released provisionally on 30 June 2008 pursuant to the Appeals Chamber decision. The judges decided to suspend the trial for three to six months because of Stanisic’s ill physical and mental health.

In its latest motion, the prosecution notes that ‘the trial has to continue in the near future’ ‘regardless of the chronic illness’ of the accused Stanisic who was found fit for trial by the Trial Chamber. According to the prosecution, the purpose of the suspension was to facilitate Stanisic’s recuperation in order for him to be able to exercise all his rights. The physical and mental health treatment the accused has been receiving in Belgrade is ‘far from adequate’, the prosecution contends.

Two independent experts hired by the ICTY Registry, gastroenterologist Siersma and psychiatrist De Man, concluded that Stanisic did not receive appropriate treatment in Serbia, and was suffering the consequences. Doctor De Man noted that Stanisic was depressed but was not psychotic anymore: he was able to communicate, he was oriented, had no memory problems or disorders of perception, judgment or reasoning. Doctor De Man claims that Stanisic's mental health was better before his provisional release. The medication Stanisic is currently on has been banned in the EU because of its side effects. Gastroenterologist Siersma examined Stanisic’s abdomen and concluded that the accused was fit to participate in the trial. As Doctor Siersma put it, Stanisic’s health was ‘stable’ and the treatment he received in Serbia was ‘incomplete’.

The prosecution contends that the reports by the doctors from the Belgrade Military Medical Academy who are currently treating Stanisic are repetitive and do not offer ‘reliable information’ to the Trial Chamber. The reports ‘do not state the diagnoses but generalized descriptions; they are not trustworthy’. The motion goes on to remind the Chamber that the VMA doctors, including the head of the department for psychiatry, were under investigation three times in 2003 for issuing false medical reports for material gain.

The prosecution believes that the Pieter Baan Centrum in Utrecht would not only be able to provide ‘necessary’ treatment to Stanisic which would result in the continuation of the trial in the near future and would allow the Dutch doctors to evaluate if Stanisic is "malingering". This is particularly important for the Trial Chamber because it is in the interest of the accused to be declared unfit for the trial, the prosecution noted.

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