EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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25Jun05
An Argentine judge to pursue Nebojsa's war crimes.
[Argentine] federal judge Alfredo Manuel Rodríguez yesterday received a formal instruction to investigate Nebojsa Minic in Argentina, for his links to acts of genocide and war crimes.
This news, which came in response to a formal accusation presented by a group of lawyers from Mendoza, became known after an order was issued by the state prosecutor's office, which is in charge of the case. The general prosecutor, Santiage Teruel, was the one who drafted the request (replacing prosecutor Gloria André). The aim is to investigate the Serb detained in Mendoze for his alleged participation in massacres during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The next step in moving this accusation forward is entirely up to the judge. Once Alfredo Manuel Rodríguez has examined the case, he has three options: to accept it in its entirety, to reject it and to declare that he lacks competence[in the case], or to take up only part of the case.
For the moment, only some preliminary measures have been requested and no further developments are expected in the coming week.
This request comes in addition to a demand made by Serbian prosecutors, who have asked the government in Belgrade to [press for] the extradition of Nebojsa.
Up to now, no concrete evidence has been presented against him. But there have been assurances from the organization Human Rights Watch that it has sufficient elements [of proof] to establish that Nebojsa committed war crimes in Kosovo in 1999.
Furthermore, a notice from Interpol dated 31 May indicated that until data can be requested from the police in Kosovo and in [the town of] Pec, it does not appear that there is any warrant for the arrest of Nebojsa Minic. According to the international police, it is also clear that this does not rule out an investigation in progress on this subject, at the initiative of human rights organizations.
War crimes and crimes against humanity are crimes that are covered by international treaties and conventions. Jurisdiction for investigating such acts transcends national boundaries that a suspect may have crossed; for those reasons, Argentine justice could declare itself competent [in the case].
Nebojsa is also faced with a charge of falsification of documents, a case which has been presented to the judicial authorities and which will be heard on 7 July in the event that he does not accept the proposal for a summary judgement.
In addition, proceedings for his deportation are also underway. The National Directory for Immigration has ordered his expulsion from Argentina, but this can only be carried out once his problems with the judicial authorities have been resolved.
[Source: Jorge Hirschbrand, Los Andres (Mendoza, Argentina), 25Jun05]
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