Orić reports to BiH Prosecutor's Office: Witness Samir Avdić calls from Belgrade claiming to be detained in Serbia

Two months after the BiH Court confirmed the indictment against Naser Orić, his lawyers Vasvija Vidović and John Jones have officially requested the Hague Tribunal to form a Pre-Trial Chamber that will issue an order to the Court in Sarajevo for a permanent stay of proceedings, reports the Patria News Agency.

In a letter addressed to the Hague judges, defense attorneys Vidović and Jones warn that the BiH Prosecutor's Office accuses Naser Orić of committing the criminal offense of war crimes against prisoners of war in the villages of Zalazje, Lolići, and Kunjerac, even though the killings, as well as the locations where they occurred, were previously the subject of an investigation by the ICTY Prosecutor's Office.

Stating that their client was acquitted of all charges by a final verdict of the Appeals Chamber of the Hague Court in early July 2008, Orić's legal team emphasized that he cannot be tried twice for the same criminal offense and seriously questioned the credibility of the new evidence obtained by the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

The fact that the new President of the Hague Tribunal, Carmelo Agius, was previously the presiding judge of the Pre-Trial Chamber that issued the first-instance verdict against Naser Orić (sentenced to two years in prison) and is familiar with all the details of the court proceedings will certainly work in their favor.

Naser Orić's lawyers have already reported to the BiH Prosecutor's Office that Samir Avdić called their client in mid-September and submitted transcripts of recorded phone conversations.

Avdić and his wife called Orić on several occasions, told him they were in Belgrade, and even claimed to be in Serbia against their will.

Avdić also told the wartime commander of Srebrenica that he knew they were preparing an indictment against him, that false witnesses were being paid two thousand KM, and suggested that Orić send his lawyer to Belgrade to meet with him.

Finally, Samir Avdić and his wife begged Naser Orić for help, saying they were both detained in Belgrade, that they were physically abused, and that the witness was threatened that he himself would end up in prison if he did not testify against Orić, writes Slobodna Bosna.