Serbian Authorities look to extradite former Bosnian President
Jennifer Glasse | London 05 March 2010
--Voice of America--

The alleged war crime they wish to prosecute Ganic for occurred in 1992. In 2003 lawyers at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague looked at the case drawn up by a Serbian military court and ruled there was not enough evidence to charge anyone with war crimes, or even that a war crime had been committed. Gentle believes the Serbs do not have a case now either.

"On the basis of what I've seen thus far I think the Serbian request is fundamentally flawed and obviously I've seen the independent evidence which has been supplied in court today and it seems to me that the Serbian request is misconceived," Gentle added.

In court another of Ganic's attorneys said the Serbian request was clearly political and timed to coincide with the appearance at The Hague tribunal of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Ganic's daughter, Emina Ganic, says the accusations show that Serbia is still fighting its wartime enemies.

"It is a desire to show a certain parity that doesn't exist and to blur the lines between aggressors and those who stood in defense of one country. They will not be successful in this," she said.

Emina Ganic says the longer the court process goes on, the more damaging it is to relations between Bosnia and Serbia and Bosnia and the United Kingdom. There are two court proceedings next week. On Tuesday, both sides will begin to lay out their cases for and against extradition. On Thursday, Ganic's lawyers will again try to get him freed on bail.