TRIBUNAL CONSIDERS SUBPOENAS FOR RELUCTANT DEFENSE WITNESSES

www.slobodan-milosevic.org - October 18, 2004

The so-called “trial” of Slobodan Milosevic resumed on Monday with a 90-minute debate on problems arising from a boycott by defense witnesses.

According to Mr. Kay, the lawyer imposed on Milosevic against his will, 80 to 90 percent of the witnesses who had formerly agreed to give evidence have now refused to testify in protest at the tribunal’s decision to deny Milosevic the right to represent himself.

Kay said that 65 of 138 Kosovo witnesses had refused to testify. He said that the list of defense witnesses contained the names of 21 expert witnesses and 27 international witnesses, many of whom were unwilling to testify.

Kay, who was supposed to have a witness ready to go on Monday, told the tribunal that he couldn’t get any witnesses to come. He described his attempts to get witnesses to testify as being like a "dance of the seven veils". But he hoped to have witnesses to call on Tuesday and Wednesday

Kay said that a member of the Greek parliament, Liana Kanneli, was supposed to appear on Tuesday to testify about her visit to Belgrade in 1999 during the NATO bombing.

Mr. Kay has filed an appeal against his own appointment, but that appeal will not be heard until Thursday.

The “Presiding Judge” Patrick Robinson said that some witnesses might reconsider after the appeal ruling, but if they did not, Kay should ask the tribunal to force them to appear.

"A subpoena is a last resort ... but once the procedures have been exhausted the chamber will issue a subpoena because it has to be demonstrated to witnesses that this trial is a matter of fundamental importance," Robinson said.

Kay told the tribunal that he had asked foreign governments to make the witnesses available and that he would consider asking the court to subpoena around 20 witnesses, including state officials.

What remains unknown is how the tribunal intends to enforce these subpoenas that it’s talking about. Unless the tribunal intends to send kidnap squads all over the world to abduct witnesses and bring them back to the tribunal; I can’t see how they will be able to enforce any of their subpoenas.

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