London court releases Ganić on bail

Imagine if Serbia had released Karadzic on bail after the Hague had sought him on charges of alleged war crimes. I will now sit back and wait for the tsunami of anti Serb comments and the usual tirade of how monstrous all Serbs are and have been in the past and how everyone else is whiter than white and purer than fresh snow in an Alpine valley, and no, before you make accusations , I am not Serb I am English. I am just sick of the imbalance of things when it comes to Serbia. Thank you.

Just as I suspected, Hillary and Biden told the Brits to release him - he is their 'friend' after all.
This is how things work when immoral imperialists are pulling the strings.

Congratulation to British diplomacy - this is the best way to ensure the broadest support of Western democratic ideas and economic influence in Serbia and it's allies.

You just did it again, idiots. That will hurt.

I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?
(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there no limit to your ability to make the most pointless and tenuous comments about any story and try to use it to further advertise your narrow minded and frankly boring repetitive accusations against all Serbs. When will you learn that nobody listens to you because you have become a predictable and laughable parody of all that is wrong with the nation that you use in the first part of your name. You are now, with htis kind of comment, actually helping to sway opinion away from the US. Long may you continue! Please, please, for your own sake try to offer a more reasoned and intellectual approach to your arguments, that way someone may actually take you seriously. Thanks.

If Ganic is avoids going to a Serbian court, Dodik has an excuse to raise tensions between RS & the Federation. If we can't prosecute the traitor-war criminal Ganic, then he'll have to live with being the catalyst for Serbs to: 1. help Croats get an entity 2. seperate from BiH together with Croats.

Ganic will be freed because there is no reasonable case against him.

The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre has already noted serious deficiencies in other cases against Bosnian nationals relating to allegedly crimes committed on Bosnian soil - notably the Tuzla column case. What the UK incident will serve to do is put on notice all EU member state judiciaries that Serbian war crime extadition warrants are politically motivated and they won't be arresting any more Bosnian nationals after this. The Serbian war crimes prosecution should focus on apprehending suspects wanted by the Hague tribunal and on domestic prosecutions of crimes relating to the Serbian chain of command. Belgrade is the only major European city to have a hosted a mass grave (Batajnica "anti-terrorist" police base which was uncovered in 2001. No-one has yet been prosecuted for the murder of men, women and children found there. Why not, I wonder?

woooaaah, hold on everybody this is not a judgement saying there is no case to answer. No, it means that he was released on bail, in other words formally they didn't consider Ganic a flight risk. It has nothing to do with, as Sebastian says, taking Serbian warrants seriously. If that was true, due to the previous release of Kosovo Albanian leaders, they would not have bailed Ganic in the first place.
Besides Sebastian I'm surprised at your argument because it is exactly the same argument from Serbs (and Croats) who say that the Hague is politically motivated. In other words if there is a risk of politically motivated trials then there should be no trial at all! So Sebastian, you and your friends at HLC should not be arguing that Ganic should not be tried in Serbia, but that he should be tried in a fair court of law, as there is a case to answer. If there was not a case to answer the UK would not have arrested him in the first place, Hague judgment or not.

Now, frankly I don't care where Ganic is tried, but he (and others responsible for that attack) should be and they should receive a fair and unbiased trial.

BTW I will not say I told you so, as I thought this was the most likely outcome, and no, I wouldn't be surprised if Ganic vanished - although our rich Bosnian lady and her husband would be fairly less rich after that...

new compared to those reviewed by the Hague prosecution in 2003, which concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to indict Ganić.


I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?

Unbelievable, Serbs keep getting sent to prison for 20+ years plus but everyone else seems to be getting off.
Nothing will happen with the extradition request, it's a waste of time.
That's why they will never get Mladic!

Next thing Serbia should do is try to connect mr Ganic with the YELLOW HOUSE.Serious it might help!

Amer I am saying that there is a case to answer, I can't know that he is guilty any more than you can know that he is innocent. Do you believe there is no case to answer?

And I haven't seen the evidence against Ganic so don't have a clue whether the Serbian prosecutor's argument was persuasive or not. Unless you have, nor do you.

Further, I'm not a legal expert, but I'm pretty sure that just because the Hague doesn't see fit to hold a trial, that it doesn't mean that somebody is innocent. In fact a number of cases were not considered important enough to be tried at the Hague, that were held in nation states. Additionally, look at the Captain Dragan case. I'm certain there are other cases where national courts have tried those who charges were not brought against at the Hague.

Your contention that simply because Ganic was in the government doesn't mean he was responsible etc, is your opinion. But according to the law, such a political leader can be responsible for command responsibility.

I usually enjoy reading your posts and think you have fair minded views, but I think you have a weak position here.

I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?
(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there no limit to your ability to make the most pointless and tenuous comments about any story and try to use it to further advertise your narrow minded and frankly boring repetitive accusations against all Serbs. When will you learn that nobody listens to you because you have become a predictable and laughable parody of all that is wrong with the nation that you use in the first part of your name. You are now, with htis kind of comment, actually helping to sway opinion away from the US. Long may you continue! Please, please, for your own sake try to offer a more reasoned and intellectual approach to your arguments, that way someone may actually take you seriously. Thanks.
(UK, 11 March 2010 18:27)

I couldn’t have said it better…
As for Ganic, if he’s guilty I hope he gets what he deserves.

interpol s.o.p. for detaining war criminals:

1. is he serbian; if yes, detain.
2. is the extradition request coming from serbia; if yes, release.

a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations
(arendt, 11 March 2010 18:27)
--
Of course they can. My example being SFRY.

one moment everybody
OK politically motivated: if it is so, than BiH is the last country they would have interests in, especially because of the muslims there, whether they they concede it or not, they fear islam,
further, a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations, in this case there is only one, that is FBiH and they will never do that: check the difference between a federation and confederation

Congratulation to British diplomacy - this is the best way to ensure the broadest support of Western democratic ideas and economic influence in Serbia and it's allies.

You just did it again, idiots. That will hurt.
(Ataman, 11 March 2010 15:00)
British authorities arrested the guy and all they are asking is that Serbia show they have more evidence than what was presented to the UN court which ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to try him, how can anyone fault the UK over this.
Do you really think that countries should not try to ascertain that arrest warrants are legitimate before turning individuals over to another country. Especially if you have an international court that has already decided otherwise.

Ganic, Ceku, Oric: all innocent according to the Hague. Were there no Serbs killed from 1990-2000? I guess there may have been, but only the ones killed by (fellow Christian) Croats count.

Amer I think its not too much of a stretch of imagination for either of us to know what happened. The file against Ganic in Serbia was gathering dust and the arrest took them by surprise.

It did sound as if you were making a defence of Ganic, but perhaps not.

As for releasing Ganic, again the issue here is not that he is free to leave because of lack of evidence - he has been bailed, pending trial.

But I don't know how this will play out. Frankly I'm surprised that the British authorities arrested him at all. I bet the Serbian authorities were too.

Amer,

“I'm not saying he's innocent, not even that there's no case - merely that the Serbian prosecutor's office apparently did not provide any evidence (not definite proof, of course) that justified holding Ganic.”

Do you think the court looked at 800 pages? No, this was about bail – only bail. However, the lawyers have sought to raise the politics in this case.

“The Hague said that there wasn't enough evidence at the time to try him. Ok, what new evidence is there now? It's the job of the (Serbian) prosecutor to convince the English judge that there's new information that justifies taking Ganic to court, not that he's necessarily guilty.”

That’s is what the defence says. Technical and jurisdictional challenges aside all Serbia has to do is establish a prima facie case. I can’t see how they won’t succeed in that because 1. He was purportedly the leader at the time and 2. It is likely or at least there is a prima facie case that a war crime did happen. All the defences that he did not have control (which I can quite believe in the chaos) are surely issues for trial? He wasn’t tried in the Haugue so how can that be binding. It ispurely one of the many circumstances to be taken into account in assessing whether there is a prima facie case.

“but they obviously haven't presented it yet, meaning there's no good reason for keeping the man in jail. That's all.”

That isn’t the reason he was granted bail. The reason is that he is not considered a flight risk. I think that was the right decision.

On another general point not address to Amer. I was arrested once. I spent two days in jail then I had access to a lawyer before the court. It simply is not possible to provide every detained person with special access as and when demanded. Why is Ganic to be treated different? Are Bosnians better than me? Or, is it OK to send a mentally ill British man to trial in the US but not a Bosnian intellectual to another Category 2 country?

If the bodies that were found at Batajnica were buried during the Kosovo war then why didn't NATO relsease any satellite images of this at the time?

"Now, frankly I don't care where Ganic is tried, but he (and others responsible for that attack) should be and they should receive a fair and unbiased trial.

(bganon, 11 March 2010 17:04)"

You're assuming that Ganic may be guilty of something, but the Serbian prosecutor doesn't seem to have provided any evidence of this. (See the BBC story linked to on B92's Serbian page.) Since the Hague ruled (2003, 2004?) that there was insufficient evidence at that time to warrant trying him, there would have to be new evidence suggesting he was actually guilty of something. The Court obviously found nothing of the kind in the materials presented by the Serbian prosecutor. Ganic wasn't released merely because his supporters came up with the bail, according to the BBC story.

Simply because he was in the government when the event occurred doesn't mean he was responsible. According to one version (from some British paper, don't remember which one), the government was using the only forces available to it at the time, which often meant thugs. These types aren't especially respectful of discipline, and may have seen the chance to acquire 40 rifles as too good an opportunity to pass up, despite what had been promised.

Instead waiting relaxed till this two guys in Kosovo are starting killing each other in good old Albanian fashion and gaining political weight through it, the Serbian authorities are making a mockery out of themselves by insisting on this silly arrest warrant which was executed by an intellectually underexposed Scotland Yard decision. Now the Brits have to pick up the pieces for such nonsense. Just wait till the hassle starts in Kosovo and then leave the Bosnian Con-Federation but don't stir the pot now.

a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations
(arendt, 11 March 2010 18:27)
--
Of course they can. My example being SFRY.
(Zoran, 11 March 2010 20:10)

read the book by Srdja Popovic
Raspad Jugoslavije, thn you will see the conspiracies by Milosevic, Kadijevic and Jovic, it was a peculiar situation, especially because of the fall of the wall, Yugoslavia has had problems years before, it was condemned to its end, but the general rule of federation is the immobility towards succession

Another thing is: well, there is really nothing to complain to, they simply just should not have started the war, so they would not get so much years of prison now. And when i listen the ill imaginations of these criminals in Hague now, I just see who is right who not, it is completely the picture of what I read in all these war articles and books, that their plan was a great Serbia and that they wanted to expel the other nations, especially muslims, which they regard as betrayers of the Serb population.
I am sorry, I don't really have anything against the whole country and the nation, but all these things came up to be true and that they are with good reason in prison. Regarding the Bosnian part, which many Serbs regard as war criminals: it comes up that defense against enemies in war is also a crime?! come on, be more realistic

You're assuming that Ganic may be guilty of something, but the Serbian prosecutor doesn't seem to have provided any evidence of this. (See the BBC story linked to on B92's Serbian page.) Since the Hague ruled (2003, 2004?) that there was insufficient evidence at that time to warrant trying him, there would have to be new evidence suggesting he was actually guilty of something. The Court obviously found nothing of the kind in the materials presented by the Serbian prosecutor. Ganic wasn't released merely because his supporters came up with the bail, according to the BBC story.

Simply because he was in the government when the event occurred doesn't mean he was responsible. According to one version (from some British paper, don't remember which one), the government was using the only forces available to it at the time, which often meant thugs. These types aren't especially respectful of discipline, and may have seen the chance to acquire 40 rifles as too good an opportunity to pass up, despite what had been promised.
(Amer, 11 March 2010 20:49)

Thanks Amer. I think Serbia is fighting yet another unjust cause so ultimately it is not only waste of time and money but this is not good for her reputation in the world and amongst her own people. Don't forgot Ganic was born in Sanjak and all Bosniak are very upset with the arrest. This unfair and unjust cause mobilized people in Bosnia so they wondered "is it possible that Serbia could do this to us yet again". So, I think Serbia lost in this case on so many fronts and we are grateful to have such a loser for a foe.

Wake up and smell the hummus! The Serbian government doesn't want Ganic extradited at all! They want him to fulfill the conditions of his bail and stay in the UK duh.

"Your contention that simply because Ganic was in the government doesn't mean he was responsible etc, is your opinion. But according to the law, such a political leader can be responsible for command responsibility.

(bganon, 12 March 2010 00:19)"

I'm not saying he's innocent, not even that there's no case - merely that the Serbian prosecutor's office apparently did not provide any evidence (not definite proof, of course) that justified holding Ganic. You can't take a man to court simply on an assumption or a suspicion and hope that something comes out during the trial - there has first to be some evidence in order to justify holding a trial in the first place. The Hague said that there wasn't enough evidence at the time to try him. Ok, what new evidence is there now? It's the job of the (Serbian) prosecutor to convince the English judge that there's new information that justifies taking Ganic to court, not that he's necessarily guilty. They have weeks to put together whatever evidence they have, and they may actually have something solid, but they obviously haven't presented it yet, meaning there's no good reason for keeping the man in jail. That's all.

Sebastian, 11 March 2010 15:23)

If the UK dismisses this as I suspect then your so called international justice system will be weakened further. So next time the situation is reversed others can play that game too. Please can we have some real evidence of this Batajnica business instead of repeating nonsense.

(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there any chance of you keeping quiet and refrain from making stupid statements. Stick to your Albanians and whining about the “ice cream truck”.

(Ako, 12 March 2010 00:52)

We hold half of Bosnia so who cares what you think.

new compared to those reviewed by the Hague prosecution in 2003, which concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to indict Ganić.


I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?

Ganic will be freed because there is no reasonable case against him.

The Belgrade-based Humanitarian Law Centre has already noted serious deficiencies in other cases against Bosnian nationals relating to allegedly crimes committed on Bosnian soil - notably the Tuzla column case. What the UK incident will serve to do is put on notice all EU member state judiciaries that Serbian war crime extadition warrants are politically motivated and they won't be arresting any more Bosnian nationals after this. The Serbian war crimes prosecution should focus on apprehending suspects wanted by the Hague tribunal and on domestic prosecutions of crimes relating to the Serbian chain of command. Belgrade is the only major European city to have a hosted a mass grave (Batajnica "anti-terrorist" police base which was uncovered in 2001. No-one has yet been prosecuted for the murder of men, women and children found there. Why not, I wonder?

Next thing Serbia should do is try to connect mr Ganic with the YELLOW HOUSE.Serious it might help!

If Ganic is avoids going to a Serbian court, Dodik has an excuse to raise tensions between RS & the Federation. If we can't prosecute the traitor-war criminal Ganic, then he'll have to live with being the catalyst for Serbs to: 1. help Croats get an entity 2. seperate from BiH together with Croats.

Congratulation to British diplomacy - this is the best way to ensure the broadest support of Western democratic ideas and economic influence in Serbia and it's allies.

You just did it again, idiots. That will hurt.

Imagine if Serbia had released Karadzic on bail after the Hague had sought him on charges of alleged war crimes. I will now sit back and wait for the tsunami of anti Serb comments and the usual tirade of how monstrous all Serbs are and have been in the past and how everyone else is whiter than white and purer than fresh snow in an Alpine valley, and no, before you make accusations , I am not Serb I am English. I am just sick of the imbalance of things when it comes to Serbia. Thank you.

Just as I suspected, Hillary and Biden told the Brits to release him - he is their 'friend' after all.
This is how things work when immoral imperialists are pulling the strings.

I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?
(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there no limit to your ability to make the most pointless and tenuous comments about any story and try to use it to further advertise your narrow minded and frankly boring repetitive accusations against all Serbs. When will you learn that nobody listens to you because you have become a predictable and laughable parody of all that is wrong with the nation that you use in the first part of your name. You are now, with htis kind of comment, actually helping to sway opinion away from the US. Long may you continue! Please, please, for your own sake try to offer a more reasoned and intellectual approach to your arguments, that way someone may actually take you seriously. Thanks.

Instead waiting relaxed till this two guys in Kosovo are starting killing each other in good old Albanian fashion and gaining political weight through it, the Serbian authorities are making a mockery out of themselves by insisting on this silly arrest warrant which was executed by an intellectually underexposed Scotland Yard decision. Now the Brits have to pick up the pieces for such nonsense. Just wait till the hassle starts in Kosovo and then leave the Bosnian Con-Federation but don't stir the pot now.

Unbelievable, Serbs keep getting sent to prison for 20+ years plus but everyone else seems to be getting off.
Nothing will happen with the extradition request, it's a waste of time.
That's why they will never get Mladic!

"Now, frankly I don't care where Ganic is tried, but he (and others responsible for that attack) should be and they should receive a fair and unbiased trial.

(bganon, 11 March 2010 17:04)"

You're assuming that Ganic may be guilty of something, but the Serbian prosecutor doesn't seem to have provided any evidence of this. (See the BBC story linked to on B92's Serbian page.) Since the Hague ruled (2003, 2004?) that there was insufficient evidence at that time to warrant trying him, there would have to be new evidence suggesting he was actually guilty of something. The Court obviously found nothing of the kind in the materials presented by the Serbian prosecutor. Ganic wasn't released merely because his supporters came up with the bail, according to the BBC story.

Simply because he was in the government when the event occurred doesn't mean he was responsible. According to one version (from some British paper, don't remember which one), the government was using the only forces available to it at the time, which often meant thugs. These types aren't especially respectful of discipline, and may have seen the chance to acquire 40 rifles as too good an opportunity to pass up, despite what had been promised.

You're assuming that Ganic may be guilty of something, but the Serbian prosecutor doesn't seem to have provided any evidence of this. (See the BBC story linked to on B92's Serbian page.) Since the Hague ruled (2003, 2004?) that there was insufficient evidence at that time to warrant trying him, there would have to be new evidence suggesting he was actually guilty of something. The Court obviously found nothing of the kind in the materials presented by the Serbian prosecutor. Ganic wasn't released merely because his supporters came up with the bail, according to the BBC story.

Simply because he was in the government when the event occurred doesn't mean he was responsible. According to one version (from some British paper, don't remember which one), the government was using the only forces available to it at the time, which often meant thugs. These types aren't especially respectful of discipline, and may have seen the chance to acquire 40 rifles as too good an opportunity to pass up, despite what had been promised.
(Amer, 11 March 2010 20:49)

Thanks Amer. I think Serbia is fighting yet another unjust cause so ultimately it is not only waste of time and money but this is not good for her reputation in the world and amongst her own people. Don't forgot Ganic was born in Sanjak and all Bosniak are very upset with the arrest. This unfair and unjust cause mobilized people in Bosnia so they wondered "is it possible that Serbia could do this to us yet again". So, I think Serbia lost in this case on so many fronts and we are grateful to have such a loser for a foe.

woooaaah, hold on everybody this is not a judgement saying there is no case to answer. No, it means that he was released on bail, in other words formally they didn't consider Ganic a flight risk. It has nothing to do with, as Sebastian says, taking Serbian warrants seriously. If that was true, due to the previous release of Kosovo Albanian leaders, they would not have bailed Ganic in the first place.
Besides Sebastian I'm surprised at your argument because it is exactly the same argument from Serbs (and Croats) who say that the Hague is politically motivated. In other words if there is a risk of politically motivated trials then there should be no trial at all! So Sebastian, you and your friends at HLC should not be arguing that Ganic should not be tried in Serbia, but that he should be tried in a fair court of law, as there is a case to answer. If there was not a case to answer the UK would not have arrested him in the first place, Hague judgment or not.

Now, frankly I don't care where Ganic is tried, but he (and others responsible for that attack) should be and they should receive a fair and unbiased trial.

BTW I will not say I told you so, as I thought this was the most likely outcome, and no, I wouldn't be surprised if Ganic vanished - although our rich Bosnian lady and her husband would be fairly less rich after that...

Congratulation to British diplomacy - this is the best way to ensure the broadest support of Western democratic ideas and economic influence in Serbia and it's allies.

You just did it again, idiots. That will hurt.
(Ataman, 11 March 2010 15:00)
British authorities arrested the guy and all they are asking is that Serbia show they have more evidence than what was presented to the UN court which ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to try him, how can anyone fault the UK over this.
Do you really think that countries should not try to ascertain that arrest warrants are legitimate before turning individuals over to another country. Especially if you have an international court that has already decided otherwise.

I have no doubts that Serbia will make up a story, but how credible it will be, it remains to be seen!?
(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there no limit to your ability to make the most pointless and tenuous comments about any story and try to use it to further advertise your narrow minded and frankly boring repetitive accusations against all Serbs. When will you learn that nobody listens to you because you have become a predictable and laughable parody of all that is wrong with the nation that you use in the first part of your name. You are now, with htis kind of comment, actually helping to sway opinion away from the US. Long may you continue! Please, please, for your own sake try to offer a more reasoned and intellectual approach to your arguments, that way someone may actually take you seriously. Thanks.
(UK, 11 March 2010 18:27)

I couldn’t have said it better…
As for Ganic, if he’s guilty I hope he gets what he deserves.

one moment everybody
OK politically motivated: if it is so, than BiH is the last country they would have interests in, especially because of the muslims there, whether they they concede it or not, they fear islam,
further, a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations, in this case there is only one, that is FBiH and they will never do that: check the difference between a federation and confederation

If the bodies that were found at Batajnica were buried during the Kosovo war then why didn't NATO relsease any satellite images of this at the time?

a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations
(arendt, 11 March 2010 18:27)
--
Of course they can. My example being SFRY.

Amer I am saying that there is a case to answer, I can't know that he is guilty any more than you can know that he is innocent. Do you believe there is no case to answer?

And I haven't seen the evidence against Ganic so don't have a clue whether the Serbian prosecutor's argument was persuasive or not. Unless you have, nor do you.

Further, I'm not a legal expert, but I'm pretty sure that just because the Hague doesn't see fit to hold a trial, that it doesn't mean that somebody is innocent. In fact a number of cases were not considered important enough to be tried at the Hague, that were held in nation states. Additionally, look at the Captain Dragan case. I'm certain there are other cases where national courts have tried those who charges were not brought against at the Hague.

Your contention that simply because Ganic was in the government doesn't mean he was responsible etc, is your opinion. But according to the law, such a political leader can be responsible for command responsibility.

I usually enjoy reading your posts and think you have fair minded views, but I think you have a weak position here.

Wake up and smell the hummus! The Serbian government doesn't want Ganic extradited at all! They want him to fulfill the conditions of his bail and stay in the UK duh.

"Your contention that simply because Ganic was in the government doesn't mean he was responsible etc, is your opinion. But according to the law, such a political leader can be responsible for command responsibility.

(bganon, 12 March 2010 00:19)"

I'm not saying he's innocent, not even that there's no case - merely that the Serbian prosecutor's office apparently did not provide any evidence (not definite proof, of course) that justified holding Ganic. You can't take a man to court simply on an assumption or a suspicion and hope that something comes out during the trial - there has first to be some evidence in order to justify holding a trial in the first place. The Hague said that there wasn't enough evidence at the time to try him. Ok, what new evidence is there now? It's the job of the (Serbian) prosecutor to convince the English judge that there's new information that justifies taking Ganic to court, not that he's necessarily guilty. They have weeks to put together whatever evidence they have, and they may actually have something solid, but they obviously haven't presented it yet, meaning there's no good reason for keeping the man in jail. That's all.

interpol s.o.p. for detaining war criminals:

1. is he serbian; if yes, detain.
2. is the extradition request coming from serbia; if yes, release.

Amer I think its not too much of a stretch of imagination for either of us to know what happened. The file against Ganic in Serbia was gathering dust and the arrest took them by surprise.

It did sound as if you were making a defence of Ganic, but perhaps not.

As for releasing Ganic, again the issue here is not that he is free to leave because of lack of evidence - he has been bailed, pending trial.

But I don't know how this will play out. Frankly I'm surprised that the British authorities arrested him at all. I bet the Serbian authorities were too.

Ganic, Ceku, Oric: all innocent according to the Hague. Were there no Serbs killed from 1990-2000? I guess there may have been, but only the ones killed by (fellow Christian) Croats count.

Amer,

“I'm not saying he's innocent, not even that there's no case - merely that the Serbian prosecutor's office apparently did not provide any evidence (not definite proof, of course) that justified holding Ganic.”

Do you think the court looked at 800 pages? No, this was about bail – only bail. However, the lawyers have sought to raise the politics in this case.

“The Hague said that there wasn't enough evidence at the time to try him. Ok, what new evidence is there now? It's the job of the (Serbian) prosecutor to convince the English judge that there's new information that justifies taking Ganic to court, not that he's necessarily guilty.”

That’s is what the defence says. Technical and jurisdictional challenges aside all Serbia has to do is establish a prima facie case. I can’t see how they won’t succeed in that because 1. He was purportedly the leader at the time and 2. It is likely or at least there is a prima facie case that a war crime did happen. All the defences that he did not have control (which I can quite believe in the chaos) are surely issues for trial? He wasn’t tried in the Haugue so how can that be binding. It ispurely one of the many circumstances to be taken into account in assessing whether there is a prima facie case.

“but they obviously haven't presented it yet, meaning there's no good reason for keeping the man in jail. That's all.”

That isn’t the reason he was granted bail. The reason is that he is not considered a flight risk. I think that was the right decision.

On another general point not address to Amer. I was arrested once. I spent two days in jail then I had access to a lawyer before the court. It simply is not possible to provide every detained person with special access as and when demanded. Why is Ganic to be treated different? Are Bosnians better than me? Or, is it OK to send a mentally ill British man to trial in the US but not a Bosnian intellectual to another Category 2 country?

Sebastian, 11 March 2010 15:23)

If the UK dismisses this as I suspect then your so called international justice system will be weakened further. So next time the situation is reversed others can play that game too. Please can we have some real evidence of this Batajnica business instead of repeating nonsense.

(Kosova-USA, 11 March 2010 15:55)

Is there any chance of you keeping quiet and refrain from making stupid statements. Stick to your Albanians and whining about the “ice cream truck”.

(Ako, 12 March 2010 00:52)

We hold half of Bosnia so who cares what you think.

a federation cannot make a succession without the affirmation of ALL other federations
(arendt, 11 March 2010 18:27)
--
Of course they can. My example being SFRY.
(Zoran, 11 March 2010 20:10)

read the book by Srdja Popovic
Raspad Jugoslavije, thn you will see the conspiracies by Milosevic, Kadijevic and Jovic, it was a peculiar situation, especially because of the fall of the wall, Yugoslavia has had problems years before, it was condemned to its end, but the general rule of federation is the immobility towards succession

Another thing is: well, there is really nothing to complain to, they simply just should not have started the war, so they would not get so much years of prison now. And when i listen the ill imaginations of these criminals in Hague now, I just see who is right who not, it is completely the picture of what I read in all these war articles and books, that their plan was a great Serbia and that they wanted to expel the other nations, especially muslims, which they regard as betrayers of the Serb population.
I am sorry, I don't really have anything against the whole country and the nation, but all these things came up to be true and that they are with good reason in prison. Regarding the Bosnian part, which many Serbs regard as war criminals: it comes up that defense against enemies in war is also a crime?! come on, be more realistic