Goran Hadzic in the courtroom

Goran Hadzic’s defense has filed a request for urgent provisional release of the former SAO Eastern Slavonia prime minister for the duration of 12 weeks. According to the defense, Hadzic should be granted provisional release as soon as possible given that he has just finished the first phase of the medical treatment, expected to last 30 days. Hadzic’s trial was suspended in October 2014 because of his serious health problems. The nature of Hadzic’s condition hasn’t been disclosed.

In the motion, the defense has stressed that Hadzic’s medical treatment requires him to rest, and he is not able to do that in the UN Detention Unit, because the prison guards and other detainees often wake Hadzic up.If he were to remain in the Detention Unit, Hadzic would not be able to receive the same level of care and the kind of food he would get at home. Hadzic "poses no flight risk"because then he would not receive the treatment he needs, and he would at any rate not pose a threat to the victims and witnesses. In light of all those facts, the defense believes it would be 'inhumane’ to keep Hadzic in detention in the ‘crucial phase of his treatment’.

Parts of the document that specify the nature of Hadzic’s illness and details of his treatment have been redacted.The defense has invoked the case of General Talic, who was granted provisional release after he was diagnosed with untreatable and inoperable cancer. The chances that General Talic might survive one more year or to live until the end of the trial were negligible. Another example is that of General Djukic: when the prosecution assessed that the accused had a few months left to live, it decided to withdraw the indictment. The prosecution’s motion was rejected but Djukic was nevertheless released for humanitarian reasons.

Hadzic’s defense has asked the Detention Unit medical staff to inform the Trial Chamber if the conditions in detention meetwith the needs of the accused in terms of his recovery and further treatment. The medical staff should compare the conditions in the Detention Unit with the home care. In the view of the defense, the provisional release does not run counter to the Trial Chamber’s order of 16 January 2015 to appoint independent medical experts to asses Hadzic’s medical condition and his ability to attend his own trial. If the Trial Chamber rules that there is no evidence to support provisional release, the defense would like the judges to hear the medical and expert opinions about the health of the accused as soon as possible.

Goran Hadzic’s trial was adjourned after the court heard the testimony of the accused, which lasted for one month. The defense managed to examine a few more witnesses before the adjournment. Hadzic is on trial for crimes in Eastern Slavonia between June 1991 and the end of 1993.

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