<http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5131346/karadzic-demands-alleged-documen
ts-of-holbrooke-deal/>
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5131346/karadzic-demands-alleged-document
s-of-holbrooke-deal/ 


Karadzic demands alleged documents of Holbrooke deal


November 8, 2008, 7:11 am 

 

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is demanding
prosecutors disclose alleged documents of a deal he says he struck with a
top US official to avoid prosecution, a UN war crimes court said Friday.

His application demanded disclosure of all information "concerning the
agreement made with Radovan Karadzic on or about 18-19 July 1996 by Richard
Holbrooke", the tribunal said.

"The disclosure... may lead to the dismissal of all charges against him,"
read the application published by the International Criminal Tribunal for
the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

"The prosecution cannot be allowed to sweep the agreement with Richard
Holbrooke under the rug," it said.

Karadzic was arrested on a Belgrade bus in July.

The 63-year-old faces 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity, notably for the 44-month siege of Sarajevo that left 10,000 dead
and the July 1995 massacre of around 8,000 Muslim men and boys in
Srebrenica.

He has claimed since his first appearance before the tribunal on July 31
that the alleged Holbrooke agreement rendered his prosecution invalid.

He maintains that Holbrooke, the US peace negotiator in Bosnia, had promised
he would shield Karadzic from the tribunal in return from disappearing from
the public eye. Holbrooke has insisted that no such deal existed.

Karadzic repeated the claims on Friday and asked prosecutors to disclose,
among other things, a copy of the written agreement he claimed was reached
with Holbrooke.

"The documents... are material to the preparation of his (Karadzic's)
defence," states the submission.

Karadzic claimed they would prove that Holbrooke's "promise is attributable
to the ICTY because it was made on behalf of, or in consultation with, the
member states of the UN Security Council or was reasonably believed to be so
made."

If the existence of the agreement could be proved, argues Karadzic, it
"might suggest the legal innocence of the accused or mitigate his punishment
if convicted".


--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"serbia" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/serbia
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

Reply via email to