The United Nation Security Council voted to extend the term of Carla del Ponte, the chief prosecutor for Yugoslavian war crimes, until the end of the year. Russia had opposed the move, as they have strong cultural and diplomatic ties to Serbia, where many of the alleged criminals have originated. U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, requested the Security Council to extend del Ponte's term until the end of the year in order to provide a smooth transition to her successor. It is widely speculated that Serge Brammertz, the Belgian prosecutor overseeing the tribunal examining the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, will be named to succeed del Ponte in 2008.
The resolution regarding del Ponte's term extension was passed on a 14 – 0 vote, with Russia abstaining. The Russian envoy to the U.N. explained the abstention, accusing del Ponte “of being some kind of quasi political player” rather than a pragmatic jurisprudent. Ilya Rogachev, the Russian envoy, continued; “In our eyes, the tribunal has increasingly assumed features of a non-transparent, biased, and costly organ of international justice.” French and British ambassadors countered Russian criticism, noting del Ponte's ability to bring high profile figures in former Yugoslavia to justice. Britain answered that Russia's objections was “undermining the work” of the tribunal.
In related news, Belgrade officials released the son of war crimes suspect, Radovan Karadzic, after detaining him for suspicious identification papers. Belgrade officials did, however, issue Sasa Karadzic with a yearlong entry ban to Serbia and ordered to leave the country in three days. It is not clear whether he was questioned regarding the whereabouts of his father, who is wanted for his role in the Srebrenica massacre, or alleged co-conspirator, Ratko Mladic. It is estimated that nearly 8,000 Muslim men were killed by paramilitary forces under the command of Karadzic and Mladic in 1995.
