Today, the International Court in The Hague rejected the request of the defense to postpone the pronouncement of the final verdict against General Ratko Mladić, scheduled for June 8.
The former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, General Mladić (78), was sentenced by the Hague Tribunal to life imprisonment for the genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), 1992-95.
The appellate panel of the court, rejecting the request of the defense as unfounded, assessed that General Mladić and at least one of his defense attorneys can attend the sentencing either in the courtroom or via video link.
The defense had previously requested a postponement with the explanation that Mladić refuses to watch the hearing via video link and insists that he and both defense attorneys, Branko Lukić and Dragan Ivetic, attend the sentencing in the courtroom.
According to the defense submission, Ivetić cannot be present due to illness, and Lukić because he respects Mladić's instructions.
The Appellate Panel rejected those arguments of the defense, stressing that, according to the rules of the court, the right of the accused to attend the trial does not necessarily mean physical presence in the courtroom and does not exclude watching the proceedings via video link.
The judges underlined that the defense attorneys are obliged to represent their client, in accordance with court orders, and that at least one of Mladić's lawyers can attend the sentencing.
The appellate panel also rejected the defense's request that, before the verdict was pronounced, it would be determined whether Mladić was competent to stand trial due to the consequences of strokes.
In the decision, the judges quoted from the request of the defense attorneys that Mladić himself gave them instructions and conveyed "his unequivocal position" by which he refused to follow the sentencing via video link.
On November 22, 2017, the Hague Tribunal illegally sentenced General Mladić to life imprisonment for the genocide in Srebrenica; persecution of Croats and Muslims throughout BiH; terrorizing the population of Sarajevo with long-term shelling and sniping and taking members of UNPROFOR hostage, 1992-95.
The tribunal acquitted Mladić of genocide in five other Bosnian municipalities.
The defense filed an appeal demanding that Mladić be acquitted or that he be tried again, claiming that the prosecution did not prove his guilt.
The prosecutors demanded in their appeal that General Mladić be found guilty of genocide against Muslims and Croats in five municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Judge Priska Matimba Nijambe from Zambia presides over the appellate panel that will deliver a final verdict against General Mladić.
Members of the council are judges Mustapha El Baža (Mustapha EL Baaj), Aminatta Engum (Aminatta N`Gum) from Gambia, Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamia (Elizabeth Nahamya) from Uganda and Seymour Penton (Seymour) from Jamaica.
The end of the Hague process for General Mladic has already been postponed a couple of times due to the coronavirus pandemic and the operation that Mladic underwent in March last year.
In mid-November last year, the discussion on the state of the proceedings was also postponed because Mladić's defense attorneys could not travel to The Hague due to restrictions due to the pandemic, and the general refused to hold the hearing via video link.
Mladić's last trial in the Hague courtroom was in August last year, during the hearing on appeals against the first-instance verdict.
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