Radovan Karadžić's defence appeals cancellation of video calls

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Radovan Karadžić's defence has appealed the decision of the Registry of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT) to cancel the pilot project allowing detainees in The Hague to make and receive video calls, citing security risks.

In the appeal, lawyer Peter Robinson stated that Registrar Olufemi Elias erred when he denied Karadžić video calls at the United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU), Detektor.ba reports.

"His decision on Karadžić's appeal infringes upon the right to family life, considering the length of his detention, the distance from his family, and the availability of video calls for detainees worldwide," the appeal reads.

Robinson also emphasized that the President of the Mechanism should overturn the Registrar's decision and set a deadline for the implementation of video calls.

The appeal also highlighted that Karadžić has been at the UN Detention Unit for 11 years and that it will likely take several more years to determine the country where he will serve his life sentence.

The pilot project for video calls was initiated after Karadžić repeatedly requested access to "Skype" or some form of video communication.

According to the decision of Registrar Olufemi Elias from last week, this project will not proceed with further testing phases and will be completely cancelled. In addition to technical problems with video calls, security issues were also cited.

In his appeal against this decision, Robinson pointed out that the mentioned technical and security problems do not serve as an excuse for violating Karadžić's right to family life, especially considering that thousands of prisoners, including those convicted by the Mechanism, have access to video calls.

In March, Karadžić was definitively sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution across BiH, terrorizing the citizens of Sarajevo, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage, writes Detekor.ba.