On Site: Security is the Main Concern in The Hague, Brussels Attacks Take Center Stage

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday (03/24/2016) at 2 PM, the first-instance verdict will be delivered to the wartime president of Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić – accused on 11 counts of genocide and persecution in Bosnian municipalities in 1992, terror against Sarajevo civilians (1992-1995), genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, and taking United Nations international observers hostage, reports the Patria News Agency reporter from The Hague.

In The Hague, the day before the delivery of one of the historic verdicts, the situation is under control and calm, and the terrorist attacks in Brussels have effectively pushed the verdict delivery into the background.

- At this moment, the most important thing for the organizers is the security of all those who will attend the verdict delivery. From the moment the unfortunate event in Brussels happened, the issue of Karadžić's verdict has practically fallen into the background, and everyone's main concern is security – says Sead Omeragić, a Patria journalist who will follow tomorrow's verdict delivery in the courtroom among 200 journalists from around the world.

Otherwise, The Hague has provided 300 seats for monitoring the verdict delivery to Karadžić, but due to high interest, in order to accommodate more visitors, the Tribunal is using all available space in its building, as well as additional space in the nearby World Forum conference center.

The entire area around the Tribunal will be blocked tomorrow, and access will be controlled by the Dutch police. A video link will be organized in the World Forum conference center, and the verdict delivery will be followed live – Omeragić added.

55 ambassadors will attend the verdict delivery, and the Tribunal has registered requests for the attendance of more than 150 victims, more than 200 journalists, and more than 100 professors, researchers, and representatives of civil society.

- 15 Serbs will also attend the verdict delivery, but they will be seated separately. The arrival of the mothers of Srebrenica is also eagerly awaited, and they will be accommodated in Scheveningen, right by the sea in one of the hotels – Omeragić added.