July 1, 2005
Embassy of the United States of America
Belgrade

U.S. Official Calls for Justice in Bytyqi Brothers Case

Conference "Right of the Accused and Their Defense in Procedures Before the ICTY and Domestic Courts"
Palace of Federation, Belgrade

U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission on July 1st again called on Serbian authorities to accelerate their efforts to bring to justice all individuals involved in the killing of the Bytyqi brothers, three young American citizens executed in Serbia following their illegal detention at the Petrovo Selo facility in 1999. Speaking at a conference on war crimes issues, Moore said:

First of all, congratulations on organizing this conference on such an important topic. My country, of course, fully supports the rights of the accused to fair trials. Indeed, in the U.S., all defendants are presumed innocent, until proven guilty in a court of law. This is a sacrosanct doctrine around which our entire criminal justice system is built.

Secondly, I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations to Serbia and to B-H for this bilateral cooperation agreement. This is potentially a major step forward in facilitating domestic war crimes prosecutions.

The Hague Tribunal has made it clear that it will issue no new indictments. Yet, as we were reminded so vividly from the infamous videotape, there are probably thousands of individuals living among us who participated in war crimes who have not yet been identified. The courts of this country, and others in the region, must therefore assume the solemn responsibility of ensuring that the perpetrators of murder and other crimes throughout the former Yugoslavia are brought to justice.

My country, primarily through the efforts of Sam Nazzaro and his team at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, has been working closely with your law enforcement and judicial organs to expand cooperation in this area among Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our support, which we will continue and expand, has already included regional training and hands-on facilitation of evidence sharing in -- such as witness testimony and material evidence. We are confident that this support has already born fruit, in the form of strengthening prosecution efforts in the Ovcara trial and other cases.

My government has also invested substantial resources into strengthening your country's capacity for domestic war crimes prosecution and adjudication. This includes training, legal advice, legislative assistance, and support for regional efforts in the areas of witness protection and victim/ witness assistance.

We call on the Serbian authorities to utilize to the utmost its capacities in these areas to aggressively hunt down, investigate, and prosecute all individuals -- regardless of ethnicity -- who perpetrated war crimes in the 1990s. In particular, we call on Serbia to accelerate its efforts to arrest and prosecute all those involved in the murders of the Bytyqi brothers, three American citizens who were executed in Serbia following their illegal detention at Petrovo Selo in 1999. My own government, for its part, will determinedly insist that the killers of the Bytyqi brothers be brought to justice.

In the end, the transfer of Mladic and the other Hague fugitives, as well as your success in meeting the challenges of domestic trials will be important measures of your country's commitment to the shared values that unite the Euro-atlantic community.

We wish you good success and stand by to continue our support for your efforts.

1. jul, 2005
Ambasada Sjedinjenih Američkih Država
Beograd

Američki zvaničnik traži pravdu u slučaju braće Bitići

Konferencija "Prava optuženih i njihova odbrana u suđenjima pred Haškim Tribunalom i domaćim pravosuđem"
Palata Federacije, Beograd

Zamenik šefa misije ambasade SAD ponovo je pozvao srpske vlasti 1.jula da ubrzaju privođenje pravdi svih pojedinaca koji su učestvovali u ubistvu braće Bitići, troje mladih američkih državljana koji su pogubljeni u Srbiji nakon što su ilegalno pritvoreni u Petrovom selu 1999. godine. U govoru na konferenciji o ratnim zločinima, Mur je rekao:

Prvo bih želeo da vam čestitam na konferenciji koja se bavi ovako važnom temom. Moja zemlja, naravno, u potpunosti podržava prava optuženih na pravedna suđenja. I zaista, u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama, optuženi su nedužni sve dok se na sudu ne dokaže njihova krivica. Ovo je nepovrediva doktrina oko koje je izgrađen čitav krivično-pravni sistem.

Drugo, želeo bih da izrazim iskerne čestitke Srbiji i Bosni i Hercegovini na ovom bilateralnom dogovoru o saradnji. Verovatno je da će ovo biti veliki korak bliže ka stvaranju mogućnosti da domaća tužilaštva procesuiraju ratne zločine.

Haški tribunal je jasno stavio do znanja da neće biti novih optužnica. Pa ipak, kako nas je na to živo podsetila ozloglašena video kaseta, verovatno postoje hiljade pojedinaca koji žive među nama, učesnika ratnih zločina koji još uvek nisu identifikovani. Sudovi ove zemlje, i drugih zemalja ovog regiona, moraju zato preuzeti ozbiljnu ogovornost i učiniti sve da se izvršioci ubistava i drugih zločina na prostoru bivše Jugoslavije izvedu pred lice pravde.

Moja zemlja je zahvaljujući u prvom redu naporima Sema Nazara i njegovog tima iz Američke ambasade u Beogradu, usko sarađivala sa sudskim i izvršnim organima kako bi proširili saradnju po ovom pitanju na Srbiju, Hrvatsku i Bosnu i Hercegovinu. Naša podrška, koja će se u budućnosti nastaviti i proširiti, u ovom trenutku uključuje regionalnu obuku i praktičnu razmenu dokaza kao što su izjave svedoka i materijalni dokazi. Sigurni smo da je ova podrška već urodila plodom u obliku efikasnijeg rada tužilaštva u slučaju Ovčara kao i drugim slučajevima.

Moja vlada je uložila značajna sredstva u iznalaženju mogućnosti za rad vaših tužilaštva na domaćim ratnim zločinima i na donošenju presuda. Sve to uključuje obuku, pravnu pomoć, zakonodavnu pomoć i podršku regionalnim naporima po pitanju zaštite svedoka i pomoći žrtvama i svedocima.

Pozivamo vlasti u Srbiji da svoje kapacitete iskoriste do krajnjih granica kako bi efikasno otkrili, istražili i optužili sve pojedince koji su izvršli ratne zločine tokom 90-ih godina - bez obzira na njihovu etničku pripadnost. Naročito pozivamo Srbiju da ubrza napore na hapšenju i donošenju presuda za sve one uključene u ubistvo braće Bitići, trojice američkih državljana koji su pogubljeni u Srbiji nakon što su ilegalno pritvoreni u Petrovom Selu 1999. Moja vlada sa svoje strane neće imati mira sve dok se ubice braće Bitići ne izvedu pred lice pravde.

Na kraju, vaš uspeh u suočavanju sa ovim izazovima biće važan deo obaveze Srbije prema zajedničkim vrednostima koje ujedinjuju evroatlansku zajednicu.

Želimo vam mnogo uspeha uz napomenu da smo vam na raspolaganju da pružimo podršku vašim naporima.

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