Former president of the former Republic of Serbian Krajina has been charged with participation in a joint criminal enterprise under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic. He is the third president of the RSK to be indicted by the Tribunal in The Hague

Chief Prosecutor of the Tribunal holds a press conference regarding the Hadzic case. The accused disappeared seven hours after the authorities were served with the sealed indictment and arrest warrant, 17 hours before the District Court in Belgrade transmitted the warrant for Hadzic's arrest to the Serbian MUP

The prosecution publishes some of the photographs taken on 13 July 2004 in front of Goran Hadzic's house in Novi Sad

Chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz and ICTY vice-president O-Gon Kwon called the news of Goran Hadzic’s arrest an ‘important milestone in the history of the Tribunal’, which has brought it closer to the completion of its mandate. Hadzic was the last of 161 persons indicted by the Tribunal; he successfully evaded international justice until today

Former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina Goran Hadzic was transferred this afternoon to the Tribunal’s Detention Unit. Hadzic will have his initial appearance before Judge O-Gon Kwon on Monday, 25 July 2011 at 4 p.m.

The amended indictment against the former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina was made public Friday evening. Hadzic is charged with participation in the joint criminal enterprise aimed at forcible and permanent removal of Croats from parts of Croatia under Serb control. The accused planned, instigated or ordered crimes and failed to take ‘necessary and reasonable measures’ to prevent crimes committed by his subordinates

The accused has waived his right to have the indictment read to him, and decided to postpone entering his plea for 30 days. The initial appearance of the last fugitive from international justice lasted less than 15 minutes

Former president of the former Republic of Serbian Krajina Goran Hadzic today pleaded ‘not guilty to the charges contained in the indictment’. Presiding judge Guy Delvoie did not read out the counts in the indictment charging Hadzic with crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war in Croatia between June 1991 and December 1993

The Trial Chamber today dismissed Goran Hadzic’s motion alleging defects in the form of the indictment that charges him with crimes against Croats and other non-Serbs from June 1991 to the end of 1993. The Trial Chamber found that the indictment against Hadzic is detailed enough to give him sufficient notice of the nature and cause of the charges against him and to enable him to prepare an adequate defense

The prosecution and the defense in the Goran Hadzic case contend that they will not be able to meet the deadlines set by the Trial Chamber for the start of the trial. The judges want the trial to start in October 2012. The prosecution proposes that the trial begin in January 2013

At the second status conference in the case against Goran Hadzic, former Croatian Serb leader, the parties discussed preparations for his trial, tentatively scheduled to start on 16 October 2012

Both the prosecution and the defense are busy preparing for Goran Hadzic’s trial, tentatively slated to begin on 16 October 2012. At the third status conference, the parties discussed agreed facts, disclosure and the prosecution’s deadlines for witness and exhibit lists. Hadzic has ‘no complaints’ about his health and the conditions in the detention

The defense of the former RSK president has asked for a review of the decision on pre-trial funding. The defense argues that Hadzic’s case should be reclassified as a case of ‘highest complexity’. He should therefore receive €340,000 instead of the amount of €192,000 it has been granted by the Registry

The prosecution has submitted a list of witnesses it intends to call at the trial of Goran Hadzic, former Serb leader in Croatia. The list contains the names of 141 witnesses; the prosecution has asked for 172 hours to examine them in chief

Pre-trial judge Guy Delvoie confirmed today at the status conference that the trial of Goran Hadzic would begin on 16 October 2012. At a pre-trial hearing to be held on 15 October 2012, the defense will indicate if Hadzic intends to present an introductory statement without making a solemn declaration. The prosecution intends to call a total of 141 witnesses and has asked for 170 hours for their examination-in-chief

At the pre-trial conference, the Trial Chamber issued guidelines to the prosecution and the defense on how the trial of Goran Hadzic, former president of the so-called Republic of Serbian Krajina, should proceed. It remains to be seen if Hadzic will address the Trial Chamber without making a solemn declaration after the prosecution completes its opening statement tomorrow. The identity of the first witnesses has not been disclosed, but there are ‘indications’ they are victims of the crimes Hadzic is charged with

In the opening statement at the trial of Goran Hadzic the prosecution claimed it would prove that the former RSK president was responsible for the 'first ethnic cleansing campaign in the former Yugoslavia'. The ethnic cleansing was implemented through the gravest crimes against civilians whose 'only sin' was that they were non-Serbs and happened to live in the territory the accused and other participants of the joint criminal enterprise claimed as Serb

Zlatko Antunovic, the first witness at the trial of Goran Hadzic, has described his detention in the Culture Hall in Dalj and Arkan’s training center in Erdut. He also described the nighttime visits to the cells by the prison guards who would take prisoners out for ‘therapy sessions’

In his evidence, former president of the Serb Autonomous Region of Western Slavonia Veljko Dzakula said that Goran Hadzic was at first 'tolerant, democratic and ready to negotiate with the Croatian authorities'. After he was arrested in Plitvice on 31 March 1991 and beaten in a Croatian prison, Hadzic took a more radical position and decided to 'go to war with Croats because he doesn't see a way the two ethnic communities could live together'

Former Serb leader from Western Slavonia Veljko Dzakula contends that the RSK authorities headed by Goran Hadzic made the return of Croat refugees impossible under various pretexts - ranging from claims that Croat refugees were 'descendants of the Ustashas' to accusations that they were members of 'nationalist and fascist parties'. The most common reason was that 'the conditions for the return have not yet been put in place’'. He also spoke about Hadzic's opinion on Croats' 'genetic hatred' towards Serbs

The Serb representative in Western Slavonia Veljko Dzakula believes that the war option supported by the accused Goran Hadzic ran counter to the Serb interests in Croatia. It played right into the hands of the Croatian leadership in their bid to capture the territory under the Serb control

Prosecution witness Veljko Dzakula says that the Krajina authorities headed by Goran Hadzic obstructed the return of Serbs to Western Slavonia as it would force them to facilitate the return of Croats to Krajina and Eastern Slavonia. That would have begged the question of the purpose of the fighting earlier on

In the spring of 1991, Goran Hadzic ‘fell under Slobodan Milosevic's influence', claims Hadzic's former friend and fellow party member Borivoje Savic. When the witness told Hadzic such 'colluding' was hardly necessary, Hadzic replied that Milosevic was a 'good man and a great Serb'. As the witness said, the war in Croatia broke out soon afterwards, with Belgrade's active involvement and the participation of volunteers from Serbia

Goran Hadzic's former friend Borivoje Savic claimed in the cross-examination that the Serbian State Security Service wanted to kill him in 1991 because he, Savic, was 'non-aggressive and peaceful'. At the same time, the witness made no effort to hide the fact that he worked with Brana Crncevic and Radmilo Bogdanovic, that he was involved in the volunteer admissions in Sid, that he carried Scorpion submachine guns and was in touch with the paramilitaries from the Dusan Silni unit

Former cook in the Territorial Defense center in Erdut started her testimony with image and voice distortion under a pseudonym at the trial of Goran Hadzic. Members of Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan’s Serbian Volunteer Guard trained at the center

During the evidence of a protected witness at the trial of Goran Hadzic, the transcript of his testimony from Slobodan Milosevic’s trial was admitted in the evidence. At that trial, the witness said that in the fall of 1991 Hadzic came to the police station in Dalj twice with Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan. Dozens of civilians were taken out from the police station and killed on both occasions

Milan Miladinovic testified as a prosecution witness at the trial of Goran Hadzic. Miladinovic described the events in Dalj in the fall of 1991: the detention, beatings and murder of non-Serbs after the Serb forces seized power in the village. The witness was ordered to bury the bodies of five Croats killed by Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan as he (Arkan) was on his way to Vukovar

At the trial of Goran Hadzic, a protected prosecution witness described the events following the murder of 28 Croats and Hungarians in the police station in Dalj on 4 October 1991. The witness said that the question ‘why Dalj has been covered in blood’ and by whom was asked at a gathering of several hundreds of the Territorial Defense troops. Arkan showed up and said, ‘I did it and there’s nothing any of you can do about it’

Former president of Lovas municipality Zeljko Cirba described at the trial of Goran Hadzic how non-Serbs left Eastern Slavonia en masse in the fall of 1991. Cirba said that many of those who remained in their houses after the exodus became victims of crimes. Ivan Mujic was one of them: he was seriously wounded when he and a group of his compatriots were forced to walk through a mine field near Lovas

At the trial of Goran Hadzic, the prosecution continued its case about the killing of 21 persons in a clover field full of mines near the village of Lovas in Eastern Slavonia in October 1991. Two survivors gave evidence today: Milan Conjar, whose brother was killed in the incident, and a protected witness testifying under the pseudonym GH 095

Male nurse Ivica Pinter contends that on 1 August 1991 he saw Goran Hadzic in front of the destroyed police station in Dalj. Hadzic was the prime minister of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem at the time. The defense claims that Hadzic was not in Dalj that day and that the witness couldn’t have seen him

Former member of the Crisis Staff in Lovas Adam Rendulic described at Goran Hadzic’s trial the pattern of the attacks on the Croatian villages of Sotin, Lovas, Tovarnik, Bapska and Ilok by the Serb forces. After mortar fire, the villagers were given an ultimatum to surrender the weapons, the witness recounted. Regardless of the outcome, there would be an attack which ended with the paramilitaries entering the village

Zeljko Sandor, former member of the Croatian National Guard, was arrested in November 1991 and taken to the prison in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia. He spent several months in detention and was seriously physically and mentally injured. The injuries still make normal life difficult for the witness

With the accused Goran Hadzic absent from the courtroom, Croatian pathologist Davor Strinovic testified about the post mortems and identification of victims of the crimes listed in the indictment against the former Krajina Serb leader. Most of the victims died of gunshot wounds

In the brief cross-examination of Davor Strinovic, a forensic medicine expert from Zagreb, Goran Hadzic’s defense counsel brought up the restricted access to the documents on the exhumations kept by the Commission for Detained and Missing Persons of the Croatian government

Prosecution expert notes that in 1991 the JNA warned the local authorities in the Serb Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem about Serbs evicting, attacking and killing Croats and about many crimes and murders that remained unsolved. The authorities ignored the warning

The prosecution expert insists that a number of documents from the Yugoslav security services show close ties between Hadzic and Arkan. The documents warn that their frequent public appearances together were ‘politically harmful to Hadzic and the RSK’

Goran Hadzic’s defense counsel noted that the town commands were in charge of establishing ‘law and order’ in Eastern Slavonia. According to prosecution expert Nilsen, the army tried to prevent unlawful acts together with the civilian authorities that were, at the same time ‘unfortunately, involved in the abuse and expulsion of citizens’

The defense contests the allegations that on 19 and 20 November 1991 Hadzic was in the primary school in Borovo Selo and that before the conflict he visited the husband of witness Samira Baranjek in his atelier. Witness Samira Baranjek contends that Hadzic visited her husband and they would ‘look at paintings and read poetry’. The defense counsel put it to the witness that she had mixed Hadzic up with a man by the name of Kovacevic who was physically similar to the accused

At Goran Hadzic’s trial, prosecution witness Mate Brletic described the pattern of attacks on the Croat villages in Eastern Slavonia. Brletic also described how the Serb forces treated the local population

Dr Vesna Bosanac appeared for the sixth time as a witness; she spoke about the events preceding the fall of Vukovar and the first mass execution in the wars in the former Yugoslavia. Did the Croatian government’s commissioner for the town of Vukovar manage to get in touch with Goran Hadzic and ‘give him the key to the city’ in November 1991?

In her sixth and probably last testimony before the Tribunal, Dr Vesna Bosanac confirmed that 93 of the 193 victims identified after the exhumation of the mass grave at Ovcara had been hospital patients. The victims included civilians, soldiers and hospital staff, the witness said

Goran Hadzic’s defense tried to prove that the paramilitary formations in Vukovar were ‘controlled and protected’ by the JNA. Witness Vesna Bosanac confirmed the argument

Prosecution expert Visnja Bilic presented the data about the missing, exhumed and identified victims of the crimes in Eastern Slavonia that Goran Hadzic is charged with. Dr Hicham Malla began his evidence today. In November 1991, Dr Malla was detained in the Stajicevo prison camp in Serbia

A protected prosecution witness described at the trial of Goran Hadzic how he and other detainees, mostly from Eastern Slavonia, were held in inhumane conditions in the Begejci prison camp near Zrenjanin. The prisoners were beaten by the guards wearing JNA uniforms

Czech ambassador Petr Kypr described at the trial of Goran Hadzic what he knew about the expulsion and detention of Croatian civilians in Eastern Slavonia in 1991 and the events preceding the Ovcara execution

In his cross-examination at the trial of Goran Hadzic, the military and intelligence analyst Reynaud Theunens couldn’t precisely tell under whose command Arkan was from 1 August 1991 on. Theunens agreed in part with the defense counsel’s suggestion that at various times, Arkan participated in combat operations under the JNA command. On the other hand, Theunens didn’t offer an alternative answer as to under whose command Arkan was in other situations

Having examined thousands of documents, the prosecution’s financial expert Morten Torkildsen concluded that the Republic of Serbian Krajina and Republika Srpska ‘were more or less funded exclusively from Belgrade’

Protected witness GH 023 described at the trial of Goran Hadzic how in a ‘time of euphoria and anarchy’ in Baranja ‘old debts were settled’ and how anyone with a weapon felt they had the right to ‘arrest, beat up and abuse’ non-Serbs

In his evidence at the trial of Goran Hadzic, protected witness GH 023 described the pattern of the persecution of non-Serbs. First, ‘shots were fired at their windows, in the streets, explosive devices were planted and there was intimidation’, the witness said. According to the witness, killings followed, if persecution failed to achieve the departure of wealthy Croats. Hadzic threatened ‘traitors’ in a newspaper article

Sky News war correspondent Aernout Van Linden testified at Goran Hadzic’s trial about the ‘neighbors fighting a war’ in Eastern Slavonia and his meeting with Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan and Hadzic, when he was offered ‘exclusive rights’ to film the events in the field. He rejected the offer

Did former president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina Goran Hadzic say at a meeting with the UNPROFOR officials in September 1992 that the principle of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ would be applied to Croats and in what context?

As General John Wilson testified today, Goran Hadzic ‘when he wanted, could ensure’ the implementation of various measures in the territory under his control. In his conversations with the international representatives, Hadzic denied the crimes, denied any knowledge of any crimes, claimed that Croats’ provocations were to blame, or simply blamed his loose-cannon subordinates

Brigadier John Wilson contends that the special police in Krajina were the ‘at the root of most of the problems in the UN protected areas’. The special police was under the jurisdiction of Milan Martic but ‘worked’ for Goran Hadzic. Hadzic, Wilson claimed, saw himself as the supreme political power in Krajina

The defense is arguing that Goran Hadzic was a ‘dove’ in the Republic of Serbian Krajina and was constantly under pressure from the hard-line ‘hawks’, who might have considered him a traitor. How the implementation of the Vance Plan prevented the Krajina police from putting a stop to human right abuses

At the trial of Goran Hadzic, former chief of the JNA Security Administration Aleksandar Vasiljevic claimed the civilian judiciary was in charge of prosecuting criminals, not the military judicial bodies. What powers did ‘a self-proclaimed president of a self-proclaimed region’ have?

Goran Hadzic’s defense has suggested that members of Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan’s Serbian Volunteer Guard were under the command and control of the JNA. According to the defense, they were part of the Novi Sad Corps headed by Andrija Biorcevic. In General Vasiljevic’s view, Biorcevic was a ‘drunken fool’, who tried to present Arkan’s men as a legal JNA unit at any cost, although this was not the case at all

In her evidence at the trial of Goran Hadzic a witness testifying under the pseudonym GH 085 described her detention in Serb detention facilities in Sid and at the Begejci farm. As she said, many people have asked her how she managed to survive the prison camp, and she told them that ‘a human being is stronger than any steel’

Vilim Karlovic, former Croatian National Guard soldier, testified at the trial of Goran Hadzic about the six months he had spent in detention. His ordeal began in the Vukovar Hospital, continued in the former JNA barracks, at the Ovcara Farm, in the Velepromet warehouse and in an isolated facility at Petrova Gora. Karlovic was finally taken to Serbia, to a prison in Sremska Mitrovica and exchanged from there

A protected witness testified at Goran Hadzic’s trial under the pseudonym GH 169. As he recounted, after the fall of Vukovar the tensions ‘ran high because of the war propaganda on both sides’. ‘There were precious few indifferent people and many were revolted’ and it was ‘difficult to imagine a proper and fair trial of the prisoners of war’ in the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia

Although the local Serbs knew about the mass killings at Ovcara by early December 1991, they refused to believe the reports were true, because they were detrimental to the ‘negotiation efforts’. As Witness GH 169 said, ‘I don’t believe that the top echelons allowed’ the expulsion of non-Serbs". Nevertheless, the witness said that the government of the Serb Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem failed to do anything to prevent the expulsion

Jovan Sosic, former commander of the military police in the Guards Brigade in Vukovar, claims that about 200 wounded and sick people from the Vukovar Hospital were taken from the JNA military barracks to Ovcara after a decision had been made about their fate at a meeting of the government of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia. The witness said that his commander Mile Mrksic had told him about the government meeting

In his evidence at Goran Hadzic’s trial, witness Ljubo Pribudic noted ironically that he had had the ‘honor’ to be ‘slapped by the Krajina president’ during his detention in a prison camp in Sremska Mitrovica, in Serbia. The beatings stopped only when a guard intervened

After 180 hours, the testimony of 81 witnesses and more than 3,000 exhibits, the prosecution rests its case at the trial of former Krajina Serb leader Goran Hadzic. The defense will now have to indicate if it intends to call for the acquittal on the counts that have not been sufficiently proven, in their view. After that there will be a four-month break before the opening of the defense case

At the half-time of the trial, the defense has called for Goran Hadzic's acquittal, claiming that the prosecution has failed to prove the 14 counts in the indictment. Goran Hadzic is charged with taking part in a joint criminal enterprise in which crimes were perpetrated against the non-Serbs from June 1991 to the end of 1993 in the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia and later in the Republic of Serbian Krajina

The prosecution called the judges to reject the defense’s request for the acquittal of Goran Hadzic at the half-time of the trial. According to the prosecution, there is plenty of direct evidence confirming Hadzic’s criminal intent, his significant contribution to the joint criminal enterprise and his direct involvement in some incidents

Goran Hadzic’s motion to be acquitted at the half-time of the trial of the crimes in SAO Eastern Slavonia from June 1991 to the end of 1993 has been rejected. The date for the opening of the defense case will be communicated later

Borislav Bogunovic, insider witness of the prosecution at the trial of Goran Hadzic first claimed that the government of the Serb Autonomous Republic of Eastern Slavonia reached decisions ‘by consensus’ and that prime minister Goran Hadzic's opinion was ‘sought for every issue’, only to change tack midway through his testimony, claiming Hadzic’s government was ‘virtual’ and that ‘its opinion was never sought’, least of all by the JNA, the Territorial Defense commander Radovan Stojicic Badza and the Tigers’ leader Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan

The prosecution’s insider witness denied in the cross-examination that Goran Hadzic had ties with Jovica Stanisic and Slobodan Milosevic. As he was re-examined by the prosecutor, the witness conceded his evidence at the trial of the former chiefs of the Serbian State Security was true. When he testified at that trial, Goran Hadzic was a fugitive from justice

Goran Hadzic's defense case will open on 3 July with a two-hour opening statement. After that, Goran Hadzic will make a statement without taking the solemn declaration, and will then proceed to testify. His evidence is expected to take about a month. The defense has indicated it will call 79 witnesses and will take 140 hours to examine them in chief

Goran Hadzic’s defense has been granted 140 hours to present its case. The judges have granted the defense’s request for a four-day working week in July and August 2014, when the accused will give evidence

Goran Hadzic’s defense lawyer blames Arkan’s men, Seselj’s men and the JNA, urging the Trial Chamber to acquit his client, who is the former prime minister of the Serb Autonomous Region Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem. Hadzic faces charges of crimes against humanity in Eastern Slavonia from June 1991 to the end of 1993. ‘If the accusations were true, if my conscience were not clear, would my family still live in Croatia?’, Hadzic asked as he made a statement in court without making the solemn declaration

For the most part of his testimony in his own defense on Friday, Goran Hadzic contested the evidence of Borivoj Savic, his former brother in arm and a member of the same political party. Savic claimed that Hadzic was responsible for the outbreak of the war in Eastern Slavonia. According to the accused, Savic’s testimony was a ‘lie, fantasy, nonsense, shame…’. Savic and Hadzic were arrested in Plitvice in 1991. Since then, Savic has ‘gone mad’, Hadzic explained

In his evidence in his own defense Goran Hadzic talked about the establishment of the Serbian National Council, the deaths of Croatian police officers in Borovo Selo and his appointment as the prime minister elect of the ‘tentative’ government of the Serb Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem

As indicated in the opening statement, Hadzic defends himself by arguing that the JNA had ‘all the power’ while he didn’t have ‘anything’: he had no authority over the Territorial Defense, no personnel, no information about the JNA’s plans to attack...

Goran Hadzic is trying to play down the significance of his contacts with Radovan Stojicic Badza and Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan. Badza, former commander of the Territorial Defense of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia, and Arkan, leader of the Tiger’s unit, are listed in the indictment as participants in the joint criminal enterprise Hadzic has been charged with

In his evidence, Goran Hadzic spoke about the ‘conflict’, being ‘on bad terms’ and having a ‘political break-up’ with persons who allegedly participated in the same joint criminal enterprise. Hadzic claimed that he wasn’t able to exercise ‘either command or control’ over the Serb forces that actually perpetrated the crimes against humanity and war crimes he has been charged with

On the seventh day of his testimony, Goran Hadzic denied his participation in the crimes he is charged with. He claims he knew nothing about them. He also denied the accuracy of an interview he gave after the fall of Vukovar on 20 November 1001, claiming he had adopted ‘a Machiavellian approach’: he lied because ‘the truth would have resulted in the collapse of the whole system’

In his testimony, Goran Hadzic spoke about a ‘latent conflict with Milosevic’, the JNA’s responsibility for the Territorial Defense, the paramilitary formations and the protection of the people. Hadzic also talked about his appointment as the president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina. According to Hadzic, the president was just ‘the first among equals’. Does accepting a peace plan imply an obligation to implement it?

Goran Hadzic claims that as the prime minister of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia he had ‘no jurisdiction’ over the judiciary. During his tenure as the president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, Hadzic advocated the exhumation of the mass grave in Ovcara. The Supreme Defense Council, under Hadzic’s chairmanship, didn’t discuss Ovcara because it was a ‘humanitarian, not military issue’

On the tenth day of his testimony, Goran Hadzic claimed that he advocated a ‘strong’ Republic of Serbian Krajina without ‘crime and anarchy’. Hadzic hoped that in the ‘new world order’ the RSK would be recognized as a state. At the beginning of the cross-examination, the prosecutor contested Hadzic’s claim that he did not have close ties with Arkan

Prosecutor Douglas Stringer today referred to an interview conducted by the OTP investigators with Goran Hadzic in 2002, when Hadzic was treated as a suspect, to highlight the ‘close ties’ between the accused and his friend, military advisor and private bodyguard Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan

Goran Hadzic denies that the goal of the Serb National Council and the government of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia was to separate Serbs from Croats and to transfer the population in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity on both sides of the demarcation line

The prosecution has noted Goran Hadzic’s efforts to ‘minimize’ his role as the prime minister of the Serb Autonomous Region Eastern Slavonia and his ability to influence the government decisions. Hadzic renounced ‘idle talk and private opinions’ of party colleagues. But in 1991, the prosecution argues, Hadzic shared their views about the coexistence of Serbs and Croats being ‘an impossibility'

Former prime minister of the Serb Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia and president of the Republic of Serbian Krajina maintains that he ‘condemned every instance of injustice and all crimes’ he was aware of. Hadzic denied that he threatened Croats and called for their expulsion in his public appearances. As he explained, those were his ‘political games’ intended to foment conflict between ‘peaceful and aggressive Croats’

In the cross-examination of Goran Hadzic, the prosecutor put it to him that his government implemented a policy designed to achieve a Serb majority in Eastern Slavonia: non-Serbs were made to leave the area and Serbs from Western Slavonia came in to replace them. Hadzic argues that the JNA was the sole culprit for the expulsions

Former Serb political leader in Croatia Goran Hadzic contends that his statements were ‘statements made by a politician’; their purpose was to ‘increase [his] consequence’. ‘To exaggerate a situation or to misrepresent it’, Hadzic argued, ‘isn’t a lie’. According to the prosecution, Hadzic’s statements ‘incited violence and spread hatred’

The prosecution has suggested that as far as the investigation bodies in the Serb Autonomous Region of Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem were concerned, the priority was to prosecute crimes against Serbs, rather than those involving non-Serb victims. The prosecution showed 29 documents from the Beli Manastir court, in order to prove that only 13 judgments were rendered in cases involving Serb perpetrators. The rest of the cases, 16 in all, never proceeded beyond indictment

In Goran Hadzic’s opinion, his war-time statements didn’t ‘incite violence and reprisals’. He nevertheless still claims he would call for the Croats with ‘blood on their hands’ to be put on trial. He would in fact question their very right to be called humans at all. Did Hadzic wear uniform for reasons of hygiene or for military reasons?

At the end of the cross-examination, the prosecutor put it to Hadzic he never intended to surrender voluntarily, in light of the seven years Hadzic had spent on the run and his conversation with an OTP investigator, when he said he ‘will not hesitate to use the gun if someone tried to arrest’ him. Today Hadzic said he was prepared to die to protect ‘his guest’

In the re-examination, Goran Hadzic tried to explain what he had meant with the statements he had made during the war. The prosecution alleges that in his statements Hadzic called for the expulsion of Croats and reprisals. Today Hadzic noted that his intention was to remind the public of the crimes perpetrated against Serbs. When he talked about ‘dealing with Croats who have blood on their hands’, Hadzic in fact meant Serbs too

After Goran Hadzic returned to the dock, the defense called Amanda Celar as its next witness. During the war in Croatia Celar lived in Osijek and Beli Manastir. The Briton was married to a Serb she described as a ‘nationalist’, helped the Serb refugees in Baranja, she feared the Croat ‘rhetoric’ and the Croatian checkerboard flag. Celar wasn’t interested in the Serb Radical Party policy of advocating a Greater Serbia

Vojislav Vukcevic, founder of the Serbian Democratic Party in Baranja, testified that Hadzic was brave enough to ‘express his displeasure’ with Slobodan Milosevic. Vukcevic also spoke about the decisions made by the ‘headstrong Babic, the ‘spontaneous plebiscite’ and the ‘logs’ that for a while forced both Serbs and Croats to the negotiating table

Defense witness Vojislav Vukcevic had nothing but praise for the accused Goran Hadzic. In Vukcevic’s words, Hadzic espoused ‘moderate views’, he came from ‘a placid environment’ and ‘a proper family’. Hadzic ‘had everything he needed, and therefore was not a spiteful, mean or bad man’

Vojislav Seselj began his testimony in the defense of Goran Hadzic, former prime minister of the SAO Eastern Slavonia government. He blamed Aleksandar Vasiljevic and Vesna Bosanac for the massacre in Ovcara in November 1991. Vasiljevic was the JNA security chief and Vesna Bosanac was the director of the Vukovar Hospital

The prosecution claims that Vojislav Seselj has changed his testimony in order to exonerate himself and Goran Hadzic from the accusations related to the Ovcara massacre in Vukovar on 20 November 1991. Seselj contends that he didn’t ‘revise’ his evidence: only in The Hague did he learn what had actually happened there from the witnesses and the other accused

Former minister of culture and religion contends that Hadzic’s government didn’t have any authority over the military and the Territorial Defense. According to the witness, the government had powers similar to those of the local communes: they dealt with social welfare issues and couldn’t influence the events in the field

The former minister for culture and religion in Hadzic’s government contends that it ‘is not true’ that he either committed or ordered any murders or that he supported ‘discriminatory policies against the non-Serb population’. The witness also claims it is untrue that he was an ‘outstanding fighter’ and that he knew who was authorized to appoint people in the Territorial Defense. The truth was, the witness argues, that the government couldn’t exercise command over the units in the field. In the case of the killings at Ovcara, the army ‘made this decision’, the witness says

Milenko Dafinic began his evidence at Goran Hadzic’s trial. From 1991 to 1997 Dafinic held a number of security jobs in the SAO Eastern Slavonia: he secured the Government building and was Goran Hadzic’s body guard at one point

Through the evidence of Karmen Brlic Jovanovic, a journalist working for the Vukovar radio, the defense contests the allegation that Goran Hadzic wrote poetry or that he ‘stood out in any way or imposed his opinion’. A poet ‘should be a playful soul, not a serious gentleman’ such as Hadzic, the witness stressed

Sergije Veselinovic, former president of the Obrovac municipality and minister for culture and religion in the RSK government, said in his evidence that Goran Hadzic exerted ‘little, limited influence’ over the political developments in Krajina. According to Veselinovic, Milan Babic and Krajina ‘Gauleiter’ Milan Martic held the upper hand

In the cross-examination of Sergije Veselinovic, former RSK minister for culture and religion, the prosecutor suggested that Croats were ‘killed, abused or robbed only because they were Croats’. ‘Those were isolated incidents. Surely those things did not happen to Croats at a collective level’, Veselinovic countered

Goran Hadzic’s defense case has been postponed to allow the defense to prepare for the examination-in-chief of the former justice minister in the SAO Eastern Slavonia government. Hadzic’s defense has been granted 10 hours for the examination of this witness

Vojin Susa, justice minister in Goran Hadzic’s government, claims that neither the prime minister nor other ministers had ‘any de jure or de facto powers’ to give orders to Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan and Radovan Stojicic Badza. Arkan and Badza were thus able to make independent decisions about military operations

Goran Hadzic’s defense witness Vojin Susa claims in his evidence that at a meeting in Velepromet in Vukovar on 20 November 1991 the government was 'told the war crimes are under the sole jurisdiction of the army’. The prosecution alleges that the decision to hand the prisoners to the local Serb units was made at the meeting

Hadzic’s defense witness Vojin Susa claims that the Krajina judiciary had ‘limited’ jurisdiction. In almost all of the cases, proceedings were conducted by the army proceedings, the former justice minister in Hadzic’s government argued. The court heard about the minister’s knowledge of the Red Berets unit

The prosecutor used a series of documents issued by the public prosecutor’s office in Vukovar to prove that the priority of the judiciary in the SAO Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem, and indeed in the Republic of Serbian Krajina, was to prosecute war crimes, and in particular genocide, but only if it involved Serb victims. Former justice minister in Goran Hadzic’s government Vojin Susa claimed that there were ‘more indictments against Serbs who committed crimes against Croats than vice versa’

In Vojin Susa's cross-examination, the prosecutor argued that in the SAO Eastern Slavonia and later in the Republic of Serbian Krajina, Croats were forced to move out to make way for ethnic Serbs who were resettled in the region to establish a ‘territory with a Serb majority’. Susa replied that there ‘were no significant changes in the ethnic composition'

Former justice minister in Hadzic’s government Vojin Susa denied the prosecutor’s suggestion that the prime minister and other people who were at a meeting in Velepromet in Vukovar on 20 November 1991 knew ‘what had happened in Ovcara but didn’t want to disclose it to the public’. ‘If I had known about Ovcara, I would have done everything to investigate the event. It is a tragedy not only for the families but for my nation, too’, Susa said about the murder of about 200 prisoners from the Vukovar Hospital

Savo Strbac, former secretary in the Republic of Serbian Krajina cabinet and president of the Commission for Exchange of Prisoners, has described President Goran Hadzic as having minimum powers and making rare appearances. Instead of attending government meetings where he wasn’t expected in the first place, Hadzic would claim he had not been able to travel from Vukovar to Knin because of the war

Hadzic’s defense witness Savo Strbac says that Croats would capture shepherds in the fields or women and the elderly, whom they accused of being snipers, and then exchanged them for prisoners of war. The prosecutor tried to discredit the witness noting that in a legal brief Strbac argued it was lawful to kill civilians in war. The court also heard about the stories that sheep were buried on Ovcara and the general reliability of information collected by Strbac’s NGO, Veritas

The trial of Goran Hadzic has been postponed because of his health problems. Last Friday, the former prime minister of the SAO Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem fainted and had to be given medical aid. The doctors are monitoring Hadzic’s condition

Goran Hadzic’s trial has been adjourned since 20 October 2014 because of his ill health. Now the Trial Chamber has granted the prosecution’s motion to appoint two experts who will evaluate if and how Hadzic might be able to attend and participate in his trial

Goran Hadzic, former prime minister of SAO Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem, has asked the judges for urgent 12-week provisional release. As Hadzic explained, he wants to go home to recover from the first stage of the medical treatment he underwent during the past month

The former prime minister of the SAO Eastern Slavonia has refused to waive his right to attend the trial. The trial has been adjourned since October 2014 because of Hadzic’s ill health

Goran Hadzic’s defense has originally filed a motion seeking provisional release for their client of at least three months. As the judges ponder the motion, the defense has filed a new motion for a short provisional release. The accused would use the time to prepare for a new round of chemotherapy for his brain tumor. The public has learned that Hadzic’s condition is incurable as the tumor is inoperable

Goran Hadzic wants to put a stop to any contacts with the Detention Unit Dutch psychologist. According to Hadzic, the psychologist has told him to use his ‘faith in God’ to ‘obtain the strength to attend the trial’ instead of ‘fighting cancer"

After two days of discussion about Goran Hadzic’s health, the conclusion is that it is still too early to determine if the accused will be able to attend the trial in the coming period. Goran Hadzic has a brain tumor. In the opinion of the neurologist-oncologist who testified today, it all depends on how well Hadzic will respond to chemotherapy. At this stage, it is too early to tell

Last week, two medical experts concluded that "it is possible" Goran Hadzic "might not be able to attend proceedings". Now the prosecution has urged the Trial Chamber to set a date for the trial to continue with or without the accused in the courtroom. The defense case was underway when the trial was adjourned

Goran Hadzic has petitioned the judges to grant him provisional release until May 2015, but his motion has been denied. The Trial Chamber stresses that the proceedings are still ‘ongoing’. Hadzic has access to ‘appropriate’ care and "high-quality" conditions for the treatment of his brain tumor, the Trial Chamber notes. Since it is not certain how Hadzic will respond to the treatment, the Trial Chamber considers there is no reason to grant Hadzic provisional release on humanitarian grounds

In its latest motion, the defense notes that Hadzic is not dealing well with the treatment for his brain tumor and the numerous side effects. The defense wants to receive daily reports on the health of the accused

The prosecution has proposed a series of measures that would reduce the time needed for the defense case without compromising the fairness and integrity of the trial. Hadzic’s trial could thus continue and end regardless of Hadzic’s serious medical condition

According to the prosecution, the motion in which Hadzic's defense sought to have the judges disqualified because of their alleged bias is 'cynical and fundamentally flawed'. It constitutes an abuse of process and is a "poorly veiled attempt to hinder the expeditious completion' of the de-fense case. The Trial Chamber has called for an assessment of Hadzic's cognitive functions and his ability to participate in the trial

Judge Meron's Appeals Chamber has reversed the Trial Chamber’s decision and has ordered that Goran Hadzic be provisionally released until the next MR scan, scheduled for early May 2015 in The Hague

In another urgent motion, Goran Hadzic’s defense wants the accused to be allowed to return to Novi Sad after undergoing a medical examination in mid-May 2015 in The Hague. The defense wants Hadzic to stay in Novi Sad until he completes his chemotherapy for brain tumor in August 2015

The Trial Chamber has granted the defense’s request to allow Goran Hadzic to return to Serbia after a brief sojourn in The Hague. Hadzic was permitted to continue his treatment in Serbia and to recuperate from chemotherapy. The Trial Chamber notes that Hadzic must return to the detention unit to undergo a new medical examination when ordered to do so. The decision has not been enforced yet, pending the decision on the prosecution’s appeal

Following the latest medical exam and Hadzic’s decision not to continue with an experimental treatment for his brain tumor, the defense estimates that the life expectancy of the accused will not match the length of the trial. The defense has called for termination or indefinite stay of proceedings

The prosecution wants the Trial Chamber to order Goran Hadzic's trial to continue as soon as possible, to set dates for the submission of final briefs and to render its oral judgment. Later on, the judges would render a written judgment with more details

Goran Hadzic’s defense has urged the Trial Chamber to reject the prosecution’s urgent motion for the trial to resume. In the defense’s view, the motion is ‘groundless, premature and inconsiderate’ and a violation of Hadzic’s basic rights

The Trial Chamber has scheduled a hearing for 29 July 2015 to hear the medical experts’ conclusions on Hadzic’s ability to take part in his trial

Dr Daniel A. Martell, specialist in neuro-psychology, has concluded after examining Goran Hadzic that his cognitive functions were ‘intact’. According to Dr. Martell, Hadzic’s biggest problems were his lack of ‘strength’ and ‘attention span’

After he examined Goran Hadzic, Belgian oncologist Pol Specenier concluded that the results were more or less 'normal'. Hadzic can look after himself and can move, but is not able to perform any tasks. The doctor expects Hadzic's 'condition to worsen'

The Trial Chamber has rejected the prosecution’s motion for urgent continuation of the proceedings against Goran Hadzic and the defense’s motion for its termination. The judges have decided instead to suspend the trial for three months, in the first instance, and then to extend the suspension if the health of the accused fails to improve

The Trial Chamber's decision to grant a three-month stay of proceedings in Hadzic case has only formalized the status quo, the prosecution notes in its motion seeking permission to appeal against the decision. Furthermore, the Trial Chamber's decision impacts "the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceedings and the outcome of the trial", the prosecution noted

The prosecution has called on the Appeals Chamber to urgently reverse the Trial Chamber’s decisions on the three-month suspension of the trial. Instead, the prosecution argues, the Appeals Chamber should order Goran Hadzic’s defense to resume its case. Goran Hadzic is a former Serb political leader in Croatia

The Appeals Chamber has quashed the Trial Chamber’s decision to deny the prosecution’s motion for the urgent resumption of Goran Hadzic’s trial. The Trial Chamber has been ordered to correct the errors in the reversed decision and reassess if the accused is fit to stand trial. Based on that reassessment the Trial Chamber should decide whether to continue or terminate the proceedings

The majority of the judges in the Trial Chamber have concluded that Goran Hadzic ‘for the time being’ is not able to stand trial and have decided to “stay the proceedings indefinitely”. In his separate opinion, Judge Mindua notes that he cannot reach a decision without the opinions of independent medical experts. According to Judge Mindua, both Hadzic and the victims deserve a ‘formal judgment’

Given the fact that Goran Hadzic’s trial is unlikely to continue both because Hadzic’s illness is in an advanced stage and because the Trial Chamber’s decisions have ‘irreparably compromised the trial’, the prosecution has called for a formal termination of the case

The Tribunal awaits Belgrade’s official notification of the death of accused Goran Hadzic to formally terminate the case against him. All those who had an interest in hearing the judgment, primarily the victims, will thus never know what the judges may have decided on the charges in the indictment against Hadzic

The Tribunal awaits Belgrade’s official notification of the death of accused Goran Hadzic to formally terminate the case against him. All those who had an interest in hearing the judgment, primarily the victims, will thus never know what the judges may have decided on the charges in the indictment against Hadzic