Hague Tribunal May Allow Video Calls for Indictees

The mechanism for the International Criminal Court in The Hague is introducing a pilot project that will enable defendants held at the UN tribunal's detention centre to make video calls.

The secretariat in the Mechanism for International Criminal Court, which is the successor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, I The CTY, announced Friday that it will soon launch a pilot project to enable the defendants to conduct video phones.

At the moment, the detainees are only allowed to receive and send letters, make calls, and receive visitors.

Former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic has asked the tribunal on several occasions to allow it to use Skype or other video communication tools.

Karadzic's defence lawyer, Peter Robinson, told BIRN that people held in other prisons in the Netherlands and other countries in Europe can contact videos with family members.

The secretariat's decision to launch the pilot project, which would enable the detainees to look at their families through Skype or other similar technologies, is undoubtedly a step forward in creating human conditions in detention”, Robinson said.

This is very important when the detainees are away from their family members, as is the case of Radovan Karadzic”, he added.

During a status conference on October 10th, Karadzic reiterated his request to allow internet access and Skype use, which would make it easier to find materials for his work, as well as communication with his family.

He also urged The Hague judges to allow him to use a laptop because there was back pain caused by sitting on a table computer for hours.

The tribunal's secretariat rejected his requests, explaining that a pilot project for video calls would soon be launched.

Karadzic has been held in Scheveningen's Pre-prison Unit since his arrest in 2008.

In March of last year, Karadzic was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his involvement in the Srebrenica genocide, crimes against humanity throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorisation of the Sarajevo population and the hostage of UN peacekeepers.

However, he was acquitted of genocide charges in several Bosnian municipalities in 1992.

Both Karadzic and The Hague Prosecutor have appealed against the verdict, with the former Bosnian Serb political federation seeking to be acquitted of all charges and prosecutors demanding that his sentence be increased to life in prison. / B IRN Sarajevo