On the occasion of the trial to Nedzad Hasic and
other persons accused of murder, based on the
article 36, paragraph 2, item 6 of the Penal Law
of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina which
is being held before the Municipal court in
Zvornik, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
in Bosnia and Herzegovina issues a following
STATEMENT FOR PUBLIC
On the occasion of the trial to Nedzad
Hasic and other persons accused of murder
When the criminal proceedings against Nedzad
Hasic and six more Bosniaks, accused of murder on
the basis of the article 36, paragraph 2, item 6
of the Penal Law of the Republic of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, have begun before the Municipal
court in Zvornik, the Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, within
its activities on the protection of human rights,
is trying to make influence on the creation of
the conditions for just trial. In that direction,
the Helsinki committee for Human Rights in BH,
through the mediation of the international
organizations which act in BH pursuant to the
Dayton Peace Accord, enabled the lawyers of the
accused persons - from the territory of the BH
Federation - to make contacts with the accused
persons necessary for preparation of defense, and
appealed for monitoring of the trial by impartial
monitors - representatives of the international
organizations.
On 17 April 1997, at the main hearing before the
Council of the Municipal Court in Zvornik, the
chosen defenders of the accused, the lawyers from
Tuzla, were in fact forbidden, by the decision of
the authorities in the Republic of Srpska, to
defend the accused persons. Instead of the chosen
defenders, the accused were defended by the
lawyers officially appointed from the Republic of
Srpska while the chosen defenders were allowed to
participate in the proceedings only as
"assistants", without any right to
contact the accused persons, to put questions or
to submit evidences, thus completely disabling
them to participate in the trial. Through such
procedure, the authorities of the Republic of
Srpska severely violated the right of the accused
to fair trial and to have the defenders at their
own choice. This right has been guaranteed by the
European Convention on Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms, in the article 6, par
2, item C and by the International Pact on Civil
and Political Rights in the article 14, par 3,
item D. The aforementioned international
documents are constituent parts of the
Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby
the authorities of the Republic of Srpska
violated the Dayton Constitution with such
procedure.
It is the opinion of the Helsinki Committee for
Human Rights that there are no conditions for
fair trial under such circumstances, and wishes
to inform the public on the violations of rights
of the accused to fair trial and to influence on
the international community and international
organizations to effect the authorities of the
Republic of Srpska, through their activities, and
to enable the chosen defenders to defend the
accused persons.
Sarajevo, 22 April, 1997
No. 09-04/97
Srdjan Dizdarevic
President
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