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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Naser Oric acquittal a serious blow to international justice

Belgrade, 3 July 2008

The National Council for Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) stated that the acquittal of Naser Oric who was accused of crimes committed against Serbs in 1992–1993 is another serious blow to intentional justice.

The National Council states that the appeal judgement to acquit Oric from all charges of crimes against Serbs altered the first instance verdict, which found Oric guilty, which is impermissible from the point of justice.

While reading out the verdict, presiding judge Wolfgang Schomburg said that it is beyond doubt that horrible crimes against Serbs were committed, but that there was no evidence on account of which Oric could have been convicted.

Therefore, the National Council stresses that to defend the stance that double standards do not exist in determining the necessary effective degree of control to establish the existence of the chain of command responsibility since there are a number of facts which show that Oric was in command of the Muslim forces in Srebrenica in the period when the crimes he was charged with were committed.

The statements adds that although the National Council has until now refrained form commenting on the Tribunal’s decisions, this verdict cannot help determine the truth or contribute to the reconciliation process in the territory of former Yugoslavia, which is one of the ICTY’s basic goals.