Stanisic trial may be delayed for months -tribunal
01 Apr 2008 14:11:46 GMT Source: Reuters
AMSTERDAM, April 1 (Reuters) - A former Serbian secret service chief has been diagnosed with severe depression and may be unfit to stand trial for months, the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague said on Tuesday. Jovica Stanisic, the head of intelligence for the late Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, is accused along with former commander Franko Simatovic of arming and training militias which committed atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia during the Balkan wars. Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson said Stanisic had been taken to hospital on Thursday because his kidney stones required acute treatment. Stanisic, 57, was also examined by a psychiatrist. "The conclusion of my examination is that the subject is suffering from major depression with psychotic features and is clearly unfit to stand trial on psychiatric grounds only," Robinson said, quoting from the psychiatrist's report. The psychiatrist did not expect Stanisic to be able to stand trial for three to six months, Robinson said. The court had previously turned down a defence request not to reveal parts of the psychiatrist's report because Stanisic's health was now a matter of public interest. The court said it was the third time that the start of the trial had been delayed due to Stanisic's medical condition and it was worried that a prolonged delay would affect the right of his co-accused to a fair and speedy trial. The court outlined several possibilities, including separating the trials of Stanisic and Simatovic, and asked the defence and prosecution for their views. The court will discuss the matter further on Wednesday. The two men are charged with being members of a "joint criminal enterprise" with Milosevic and others aimed at driving non-Serbs from swathes of Croatia and Bosnia during the wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995. Both have pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to shed more light on Serbia's involvement in the fighting in Bosnia and Croatia. Milosevic died of a heart attack in 2006 while on trial at the war crimes tribunal. (Reporting by Niclas Mika; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Croatia's President Stipe Mesic leaves after his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman March 12, 2008. REUTERS\Khalil Mazraawi\POOL (JORDAN) ...
