Ejup Ganic Returns Home to Hero’s Welcome
Sarajevo | 28 July 2010 |
“It was established that the trial against me was politically motivated and that Serbia had abused British courts and prosecutors,” Ganic told journalists upon his arrival in Sarajevo.
Ganic added that Bosnia benefited from the situation because Belgrade for the first time acknowledged before the British court that the war in Bosnia was an international armed conflict in which it took part.
“I am bringing with me the documents in which Serbia confirmed that it committed aggression against Bosnia,” Ganic added. “Serbia will have to bear the consequences.”
Ganic’s wife Fahrija previously told local media that the family intended to sue Serbia and Great Britain for damages.
The crowd shouted “Ganic, Ganic” and waved Bosnian and British flags and banners saying “We love you Ejup”.
“Mr. Ganic carried a heavy burden for the past five months…but in the end justice has been served and Sarajevo is celebrating this victory,” said 66-year-old Hamdo Dzafo.
“This is a victory for Bosnia….freedom for Ejup Ganic proves that innocent people always get justice,” said Ismet Dzerlek, 45.
Ganic was arrested in London on March 1 at the request of Serbia, which claimed he was responsible for war crimes related to an attack by Bosnian troops against a column of Yugoslav Army, JA, troops in Sarajevo at the start of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war.
The alleged crime as well as Ganic's role in the incident were previously investigated by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, based on claims from the prosecution in Bosnia’s Serb dominated part Republika Srpska. The case was dismissed by the ICTY in 2003 because of insufficient evidence. An investigation into the incident is ongoing in Bosnia, and Ganic is considered a suspect in the probe.
The judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court said in his ruling on Tuesday that there was no justification to try Ganic as independent investigations had already concluded that there was no case against him.
Judge Timothy Workman said that the extradition proceedings initiated by Serbia were "being used for political purposes and as such amount to an abuse of the process of this court”.
"In the absence of any additional significant evidence, there would appear to be only two possible explanations, that of incompetence by the Serbian prosecutors or a motive for prosecuting which is based upon politics, race or religion," the judge added.
In his decision, the judge said that “it was acknowledged by Serbia” that the conflict in Bosnia at the time of the incident of which Ganic was accused and in the weeks prior to that “amounted to an international armed conflict.”
Serbia has so far insisted that the Bosnian conflict was a civil war in which it was not directly involved.
2010-07-30 12:03:34