Mladić's lawyers request appeal postponement to check his mental state

THE HAGUE, (Patria) - Lawyers for former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) Ratko Mladić have requested a postponement of the appeal hearing against the verdict sentencing him to life imprisonment for genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to check whether he is mentally capable of following the proceedings.

Mladić's defence attorneys Branko Lukić and Dragan Ivetić have asked the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) to postpone the planned appeal hearing – scheduled for March 17 and 18 – to check whether their client's health condition is good enough to attend these hearings.

“The basis for this request is the medical documentation about Mladić recently released by the Registry Office concerning cognitive impairments, an upcoming surgery, and a potentially new stroke – which has not been previously disclosed, as well as other impairments relevant to Mladić's ability to participate in the proceedings,” the submission states.

Mladić's defence attorneys stated that they submitted this motion on February 28, but that the Registry Office refused to share it with the public. When asked why the submission was not public, as Lukić and Ivetić state in their submission, they were told that the Registry Office was awaiting “instructions” from the Appeals Chamber.

“We request a hearing before the Appeals Chamber at which a decision will be made regarding this issue and, depending on the outcome, a new date for the appeal hearing will be set or a new decision will be made on this matter later,” Mladić's defence attorneys stated.

The Mechanism has scheduled the appeals against the verdict by which Mladić was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution across BiH, terrorizing the citizens of Sarajevo, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage for March 17 and 18 in The Hague.

The final verdict, as previously announced by the Mechanism, is expected by the end of this year.

The appeal hearing against Mladić's verdict has already been postponed earlier due to changes in the Appeals Chamber that will deliver the final verdict.

(detektor.ba)