Jovica Stanisic i Franko Simatovic

In the case against the former chiefs of the Serbian State Security Service Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, the Trial Chamber granted the prosecution's motion seeking the admission of additional evidence after its case was completed. The prosecution wanted to tender excerpts from Ratko Mladic's war diaries, several related documents and excerpts from the personnel files of the Serbian State Security Service staff. The prosecution contends that the material would help the Trial Chamber to give proper weight to various allegations the defense made during the trial.

The excerpts from Mladic's diaries are classified into three categories. The first category comprises the parts of diaries used in the evidence of Mladic's former first assistant and chief of the VRS Main Staff Manojlo Milovanovic. The prosecution didn't tender them into evidence at the time because the defense had indicated it might tender the war diaries in their entirety. The defense never did tender the diaries and in late September, the prosecution did so.

Excerpts refuting the defense's argument that Stanisic and Simatovic were not aware of the developments in the field because they did not attend specific meetings with Mladic fall into the second category. The third category encompasses the documents that refute the defense's claim that in his notebooks the commander of the Bosnian Serb army didn't write down any telephone numbers he could use to contact the Serbian State Security Service chiefs.

The prosecution tendered 16 excerpts; 15 of them were admitted into evidence while one excerpt was rejected because it was not translated adequately. The prosecution's request to admit into evidence 34 excerpts from the personnel files of the Serbian State Security Service staff was granted. The prosecution claimed that the defense used these files selectively in a bid to 'distance' Stanisic 'from the Red Berets unit' and to diminish the importance of the special unit. According to the prosecution, the two accused were in control of that unit. The Trial Chamber concluded that the admission of all the excerpts would be of use to the judges in reaching final conclusions in the judgment.

Unless the defense files a motion seeking leave to tender new evidence, the latest decision of the Trial Chamber makes it possible for the submission of the final briefs and the closing arguments. It has been indicated earlier that the closing arguments will be presented on the 'fourth Tuesday' after the last decision on the admission of additional evidence.

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