18 Dec A Reader Comment on My Karadzic Post
A lawyer and human-rights activist with whom I spent some time while I was in Sarajevo, Adnan Kadribasic, has given me permission to turn his comment to my Karadzic post into a post of its own. I think it’s remarkable, and I want everyone to see it. Here it is, edited only for typos:
Dear Kevin, I support all of your reasons and I personally thank you for keeping our legal profession strictly objective. I’ll just add my reasons for my support by uncovering a true event of my early childhood which largely contributed to my choice of legal profession and afterwards the choice of human rights.
Back in 1993 when I and my family were in Doboj (under the occupation of the Yugoslav National Army or in the control of Army of Republic of Srpska), in the period when the biggest atrocities were being committed (talking now exclusively about those mentioned in the verdicts of ICTY), my father and I were listening to radio Sarajevo (radio controlled by the “other” side) and he got really pissed whenever the radio-anchor used the term “war criminal“ when addressing Karadzic or Mladic (but others too).
And I (being a young Muslim/Bosniak kid of 11 and looking at burned down houses every day and seeing my neighbors being killed) remember that I was puzzled. Even back then he (being a father off two, without a possibility to leave the house and barricading every entrance to the house every evening fearing for his family’s life and dropping over 20 kilos in a month) managed to keep his objective legal reasoning and explained to me the meaning of two concepts — “fair trial” and “innocent until proven guilty” — and “YES“ — he added — “I would be more than willing to be their defense attorney/advisor whenever they end-up in front of ICTY, if that meant to ensure a fair trial.” He had all personal reasons to hate him but when it came to his profession he gave me an ideal which I recognized in your post, Kevin.
I can only support you Kevin in your quest to empower justice, because this is how legal professionals act, and this will surely contribute to the general public perception of the verdict as plain and simple JUSTICE.
My thanks to Adnan for allowing me to share his comment — and for his thoughts, which mean the world to me.
I whole heartedly concur with Adnan. I’m a law student too, residing in India and in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai and the consequent resolution passed by Bombay Metropolitan Magistrate Court Bar Association in the city which bans its lawyers from defending the lone surviving terrorist is indeed disheartening. As a student of the law and principles of natural justice, a free and fair trial is something that should be the Right of every individual no strings attached.But this professional objectivity is sadly sometimes mistaken for personal flaws. A rigidly moralistic view a country as traditional as mine is not surprising, where the public would rather have a conviction and execution before any semblance of a trial is on the horizon.The converse of “innocent until proven guilty” is sadly fast becoming true at the price of travesty of Justice.