Former DB chief's trial starts at Hague

The lawyer for Jovica Stanisic, a former head of Serbia's state security, DB, has announced his withdrawal from the Hague Tribunal process. Namely, Beta news agency reporterd that the trial of Stanisic and Franko Simatovic, a.k.a. Frenki, began before the Tribunal Monday, after the trial chamber established that Stanisic, who is ill, through his refusal to follow the trial via video link, has given up the right to attend the trial. Former DB chief's trial starts at Hague The pair of former Milosevic-era officials are charged with crimes in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1991 to 1995. Earlier at a closed session, trial chamber presiding judge Patrick Robinson heard a report from the detention doctor, who confirmed that Stanisic was fit to follow the trial via video link, but warned that this could worsen his health condition. The trial chamber therefore ordered that monitoring of Stanisic be intensified. Stanisic, however, did not follow the beginning of the trial. According to his attorneys, he had earlier refused that possibility. In his opening argument, prosecutor Dermot Groom said Stanisic and Simatovic were "key members of a joint criminal enterprise," which was planned out by Slobodan Milosevic with the aim of removing non-Serbs from parts of the territory of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, so that they could later be adjoined to a new Serbian state. Groom further stated that, in order to realize his goal, Milosevic "had to form a para-military unit in 1991, which could be secretly and illegally deployed to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to work on creating ethnically pure territories." The prosecutor added that Milosevic did this via the secret service, that is, Stanisic and Simatovic. According to the prosecutor, Stanisic received financial assistance from Mihalj Kertes, at that time an official "of one of the biggest Serbian banks." The prosecutor also played parts of the intercepted conversation, in which Kertes told Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic: "Sloba (Milosevic) has given me and Stanisic free rein."

Former DB chief's trial starts at Hague

The pair of former Milošević-era officials are charged with crimes in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1991 to 1995.

Earlier at a closed session, trial chamber presiding judge Patrick Robinson heard a report from the detention doctor, who confirmed that Stanišić was fit to follow the trial via video link, but warned that this could worsen his health condition.

The trial chamber therefore ordered that monitoring of Stanišić be intensified. Stanišić, however, did not follow the beginning of the trial. According to his attorneys, he had earlier refused that possibility.

In his opening argument, prosecutor Dermot Groom said Stanišić and Simatović were "key members of a joint criminal enterprise," which was planned out by Slobodan Milošević with the aim of removing non-Serbs from parts of the territory of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, so that they could later be adjoined to a new Serbian state.

Groom further stated that, in order to realize his goal, Milošević "had to form a para-military unit in 1991, which could be secretly and illegally deployed to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to work on creating ethnically pure territories." The prosecutor added that Milošević did this via the secret service, that is, Stanišić and Simatović.

According to the prosecutor, Stanišić received financial assistance from Mihalj Kertes, at that time an official "of one of the biggest Serbian banks."

The prosecutor also played parts of the intercepted conversation, in which Kertes told Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić: "Sloba (Milošević) has given me and Stanišić free rein."