At a pre-defense conference, defense counsel for Enver Hadzihasanovic and Amir Kubura indicate they will call about 100 witnesses. The Chamber sets 1 July 2005 as the deadline for the completion of the defense case


The presentation of defense evidence at the trial of General Enver Hadzihasanovic and Brigadier Amir Kubura should end by 1 July 2005 at the latest, the Trial Chamber indicated at today’s hearing where preparations for the defense case were discussed.

The defense will begin on 18 October, after a three-month break in the trial. The prosecution took from December 2003 to July 2004 to present its case.

Hadzihasanovic's defense indicated it would need about four months to hear the testimony of some 70 witnesses and to present its evidence, while Kubura's defense counsel claimed it would need about a month and a half to call 27 witnesses and to adduce other evidence. Hadzihasanovic is the former commander of the BH Army 3rd Corps, while Kubura is the former commander of the 7th Muslim Brigade. Some of the witnesses called by Hadzihasanovic will be relevant for Kubura's defense, too, including four expert witnesses who will be dealing with issues related to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution, and a commander’s duties. The accused have been charged with command responsibility for crimes against non-Bosnians in Central Bosnia in 1993.

The defense teams will be trying to prove that the accused did all they could to prevent and punish crimes in their area of responsibility, and that some of the crimes were not committed by soldiers under their control.

After the defense teams finish presenting their evidence, the prosecution will have the opportunity to call evidence in rebuttal, followed by the defense rejoinder evidence. The two parties will then present their closing arguments.

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