The defence team of Croatian general Mladen Markac, whom the Hague war crimes tribunal has sentenced to 18 years in prison pending appeal, has been joined by London lawyer John Jones, who is known for having ensured, in appeals proceedings, the acquittal of the war-time commander of the defence forces of Srebrenica, Naser Oric, sources in Markac's team said on Monday.
"The action is now officially completed. Attorney John Jones has extensive experience at international courts, he is very competent, and he has familiarised himself with the case very quickly," Markac's main attorney Goran Mikulicic said.
Markac, whom the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on April 15 found guilty as a participant in a joint criminal enterprise, last week signed a power of attorney for Johns, who has extensive experience before the ICTY and the international tribunals for Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Lebanon.
Mikulicic said Jones was well informed about the events in the former Yugoslavia because he represented Oric and Bosnian Army generals Mehmed Alagic and Rasim Delic.
Mikulicic said the entire defence team spent last week in The Hague, working on a provisional draft appeal against Markac's verdict, and was provided assistance by Professor Kai Ambos of Goettingen University, one of the world's leading authorities on international criminal law.
On April 15, ICTY judges sentenced General Ante Gotovina to 24 years in prison, and General Markac to 18 years. General Ivan Cermak, who was on trial in the same case, was acquitted and released from custody. The defence teams for Gotovina and Markac announced that they would appeal the verdict whereby the senior Croatian military officers were sentenced to crimes committed against Serb civilians during and in the aftermath of the 1995 Operation Storm.
