The Witness from the Annex

Clearing up the mystery about the treatment of the BSA officers in court and fueling speculation that the general and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic had allowed themselves to be captured and taken to The Hague because they are prepared to testify against indicted Bosnian Serb civilian and military chiefs Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic.

Tribunal council chairman Claude Jorda said Djukic will be turned over to the Sarajevo authorities if the tribunal releases him "since they are conducting legal criminal proceedings against him". Chief prosecutor Richard Goldstone asked for an extension of the general's detention for another month starting March 4. He told the tribunal that he "expected Djukic to cooperate with investigators as a witness and his name is on a list in an annex to the charges filed against Karadzic and Mladic".

Djukic told the court he sees no reason to be held in custody any longer and added that he does not wish to say anything to investigators and isn't afraid to go back to Sarajevo. "I'm not afraid because I do not feel guilty and I did nothing that I could be charged with," he said.

Djukic arrived in court 10 minutes before the start of the hearing escorted by two UN policemen in navy blue uniforms. He was dressed in jeans, a light sweater and white shirt and tie. Djukic apologized to the judges for his casual dress but added those are the only clothes he has. He sat calmly through the hearing, smiling at times or exchanging a few sentences with his lawyers. He took some notes on a pad he held on his knees.

Defence lawyer Milan Vujin, hired by Djukic's family, had a number of serious objections to tribunal actions and the basis of the detention orders and extradition. The defence claimed that Djukic "had practically been kidnapped by the Moslem-Croat authorities in an undisclosed site, that he had been kept in jail for eight days without official court documents, that the police interrogated Djukic for 20 hours a day, using repressive measures". Lawyer Toma Fila added that the general had been beaten.

The defence demanded Djukic's release since the detention period had expired, and said the detention could have set only from January 30 when he was arrested in Sarajevo or that he should have been released based on the amnesty law which the Sarajevo authorities proclaimed on February 26. The defence reminded the court that the amnesty includes everyone in Bosnia who isn't on the tribunal lists of war criminals.

Sarajevo government spokesman Vasvija Vidovic, a ranking foreign ministry official (appearing as an amicus curiae), said the Sarajevo high court had extended the detention of Djukic and Krsmanovic by another two months until May 4.

The investigation against the two lawyers was launched because they were on the BSA headquarters staff and the Sarajevo criminal court said they would be "investigated for criminal activities" which Vidovic said they suspected.

There has been a number of interpretations of the circumstances of the two officers' arrest. During the public hearing, judge Jorda received the agreement of the defence and Goldstone that the two officers had been extradited to The Hague as witnesses, not war crimes suspects.

The defence said Goldstone mentioned both possibilities in official documents. Goldstone told the hearing that the investigation is ongoing but did not elaborate. Tribunal spokesman Christian Chartier later told reporters that Goldstone's ruling that the two officers "are potential suspects" could still stand.

Goldstone told the hearing that "the assessment that the officers were kidnapped should be looked into" and that in that case the tribunal will ask the Sarajevo authorities for assistance.

He said Djukic asked to consult with Belgrade lawyers as soon as he arrived in The Hague, which the tribunal allowed. "So far, Djukic has refused to talk to the prosecutor. I don't know if that is his final stand and that, as a witness, he does not want to cooperate with my investigators in this comprehensive investigation," Goldstone said.

In her concluding remarks, Sarajevo government spokeswoman Vidovic said "there might be some disagreement on the length of Djukic's detention" and added that could be remedied later "by counting detention time as time served after sentencing". Defence lawyer Vujin reacted sharply saying "there can be no mention of sentencing since Djukic is in The Hague as a witness".

Vujin also rejected he claims that the police had the right to determine the identities of Djukic and Krsmanovic over a period of days. He said Djukic's drivers' license, ID card and gun permit had been brought to The Hague along with the general.

The tribunal scheduled another hearing for Friday when, judge Jorda said, Djukic's detention would most probably be extended for another month.