Criticism of Judge Antonetti for changing the Appeals Chamber in the Mladić case

THE HAGUE, (Patria) - Representatives of victims' associations and experts have criticized the decision of Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti to change three members of the Appeals Chamber in the case against former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Ratko Mladić, while the Defense welcomed the decision as "just", writes Birn.

Iva Vukušić, a researcher in International Humanitarian Law at Utrecht University, says that Judge Antonetti's decision is "problematic for three reasons".

Firstly, according to Vukušić, changing experienced judges Theodor Meron, Carmelo Agius, and Daqun Liu because they had previously mentioned Mladić in other judgments actually means that "high-ranking defendants, who are mentioned in numerous cases, will almost always be judged by less experienced judges".

- Mladić is mentioned in many cases in The Hague, and it is difficult to find experienced judges, familiar with former Yugoslavia, who have never mentioned Mladić in their trials - she explains.

Secondly, the logic that these judges are somehow "biased" due to previous proceedings is incorrect, according to Vukušić, because it suggests that they "are not capable of being professionals and judging solely on the basis of evidence and law". She adds that the third problem is the "delay of the process".

- Mladić is old, and I believe it is in everyone's interest for the case to be concluded and a final verdict to be delivered. The Mechanism has reduced capacities, and delays are already possible. All of this makes me worry that we will not see the end of the proceedings - she said.

Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti on Thursday accepted the Defense's request to exclude judges Theodor Meron, Carmel Agius, and Daqun Liu from the appeal proceedings.

As Antonetti stated, judges Meron, Agius, and Liu "appear biased" given that they had made certain conclusions concerning Mladić in previous cases in The Hague.

Murat Tahirović, president of the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, said that Judge Antonetti's decision is "pure revenge against judges Agius and Meron" due to the verdicts in the cases of Jadranko Prlić and others, as well as Vojislav Šešelj.

In the Prlić case, Judge Antonetti had a dissenting opinion, while the majority found the six guilty of crimes in Herceg-Bosna. In the Šešelj case, Antonetti acquitted the leader of the Serbian Radical Party in the first-instance verdict, who was later sentenced to ten years in prison for crimes committed in Hrtkovci (Vojvodina).

- We fear that the appointed judges are not familiar with the events that took place in the former Yugoslavia and that this will prolong the case and lead to anomalies in Mladić's verdict compared to the first-instance one. We also fear the statement of Ratko Mladić's son that his father will be acquitted in 2019 - said Tahirović.

Miodrag Stojanović, a member of Mladić's Defense team, believes the decision is positive because it indicates "contamination in other cases".

- I expected such a decision earlier because it has been stated countless times as an argument. In our courts, such a possibility would not exist. If someone had already judged in such a case, they could not be in the appellate instance. It will be the subject of many discussions. It is reasoned on 250 pages. Believe me, for me, this morning's news resonated like a bomb among all of us in the team - said Stojanović.

The Tribunal sentenced Mladić, former commander of the VRS Main Staff, to life imprisonment in November last year, finding him guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats throughout BiH, terrorizing the population of Sarajevo through prolonged shelling and sniping, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage.

Mladić was acquitted of the charge of genocide in six other municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Appeals against the verdict were filed by both the Defense and the Hague prosecutors, and the final verdict was expected to be delivered next year.

Antonetti appointed a new chamber in the "Mladić" case, composed of judges Mparany Mamy Richard Rajohnson, Gberdao Gustave Kam, and Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya.