The TRIBUNAL (28 page)
Authors: Peter B. Robinson
Kevin put his arm around Diane’s shoulders. “Why don’t you ask Detective Weber if there is something you can do to help, like going around with Ellen’s picture or organizing volunteers?”
Diane pulled back. “I’m not good at that stuff. That’s something you would do. I just want my daughter back.” She burst into tears again.
Kevin felt Diane’s resentment. He knew that she was unbelievably angry with him and blamed him for what had happened. There would be a time when that wound would have to be healed, or their marriage would not survive.
Although he was hungry and exhausted, Kevin sat with Diane on the couch for the next hour, talking out all of the possibilities.
“At least you have a purpose,” Diane finally said. “You can go to court every day trying to win Draga’s case. I haven’t been out of the house since this happened.”
Kevin knew that Diane was not really expecting a solution to their nightmare from him; she just wanted to talk, and express her feelings. But he couldn’t help himself. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you come to court with me and help on Draga’s case?”
Diane frowned. “I haven’t practiced law for more than eleven years.”
“So what? You know a lot about Draga’s case from listening to me. You don’t have to handle any witnesses – just read the reports and give me some ideas. It’ll look good to the kidnappers, like we are trying everything. It will get you out of the house, and we’ll be together.”
Diane was quiet. She looked down and squeezed her hands together.
Kevin knew she never liked the confrontation that took place in a courtroom.
“What would I wear?” she finally said, smiling.
“Let’s go up to your closet and have a look.”
They got up from the couch and went upstairs.
Kevin was pleased that Diane was considering helping at trial. The more he thought about this spur of the moment idea, the better he liked it. It would give Diane something to do, and it would help him as well.
“I would just be doing this for Ellen,” Diane said, opening her closet door. “I never liked being in court.”
“I know. But this is the best way we can help Ellen now. Let’s go for it.”
Diane stood looking in her closet, pulling hangers to the side and examining her garments critically.
“You’ll be wearing a robe in court,” Kevin said. “You just need a nice pair of shoes.”
Diane frowned. Then she began going through her assembled shoes.
“I’m going to make myself something to eat,” Kevin said after a few minutes. “Come join me when you’re done.”
When Diane came downstairs, she was still undecided.
“I don’t really know what to do,” she said. “I am such a mess – I can’t decide what
shoes
to wear. How in the world am I going to be any help in court?”
shoes
to wear. How in the world am I going to be any help in court?”
“Why don’t you sleep on it? You don’t have to come tomorrow. Think about it for awhile.”
Kevin ate his dinner alone while Diane went back to sitting on the couch. When he looked in on her, she was reading a novel. It was almost ten o’clock.
“I’m going to bed,” Kevin said. “I can’t stay awake any more.”
“I’ll be up in a while.”
When Kevin’s alarm went off the next morning, there was an empty space in the bed next to him. He got up to look for Diane. He found her downstairs, sitting at the dining room table wearing a blue skirt, cream-colored blouse, and black pumps. She was reading one of Kevin’s files from his briefcase.
“Does this mean what I think it means?”
“I’m doing this for Ellen,” Diane replied wearily.
Kevin walked over to the table and gave her a kiss.
He remembered how they had once been a great team. Could they still do it?
When they drove to The Hague, Kevin filled Diane in on who would be testifying and who all the people were in the courtroom.
“What if the kidnappers call and I’m not home to answer the phone?” she asked.
“They’ll call back at night. It’ll probably be on the news that you are in the courtroom. I hope Ellen hears about this. She’ll be so proud.”
Diane shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
When they entered Courtroom 1, Diane looked out to the visitors’ gallery. “This is weird,” she said. “That glass between the courtroom and the audience makes me feel like I’m on the inside of a fish bowl.”
Diane looked at Kevin warily. “Why do I let you talk me into these things? I didn’t even want to come to Holland. Now you’ve got me in the courtroom helping defend a war criminal.”
He smiled. “Must be my powers of persuasion.”
“All rise!
Veuillez vous lever!
”
Veuillez vous lever!
”
Kevin and Diane rose as the judges entered the room. “Prosecution versus Dragoljub Zaric, case number IT-96-30. Counsel, your appearances please,” the Deputy Registrar announced when the judges had been seated.
“Bradford Stone and Charles Oswald for the prosecution.”
Kevin spoke next. “Good morning, Your Honors. Kevin and Diane Anderson for the accused.”
Judge Orozco’s eyebrows shot up.
“I would like to introduce my wife, Diane, to the Court,” Kevin continued. “She is also a lawyer, duly admitted to practice law in the United States. With the court’s permission, she is here to help me defend Mr. Zaric, and to show those who hold our daughter that we are doing everything humanly possible on Mr. Zaric’s behalf.”
Judge Orozco smiled at Diane. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Anderson. I am sorry it is under these circumstances.”
Diane gave a forced smile. Judge Orozco turned to the prosecution. “Is there any objection to Mrs. Anderson participating in the defense?”
Bradford Stone rose. “We’ve had no notice of this, Your Honor. But we continue to believe that it is inappropriate for Mr. Anderson to be representing Mr. Zaric given his emotional state and what has occurred this weekend. I hardly think that Mrs. Anderson’s emotional condition can be any better.”
Diane glared at Bradford Stone across the room.
“What a pompous ass,” she whispered under her breath.
Judge Orozco turned to Judge Davidson and then Judge Linares and had short conversations with each of them. Then she turned to Draga. “Mr. Zaric, do you have any objection to Mrs. Anderson participating in your defense?”
Kevin turned to look at Draga, wishing he had a chance to talk to Draga about this first. Draga looked handsome in a light gray suit. His client had turned into a clothes horse. Kevin wondered where he was getting the nice threads.
Draga stood up. “I would welcome her help,” he said gallantly.
Kevin smiled at Diane. The war criminal was turning into a prince.
“Very well then,” Judge Orozco said with a smile. “Welcome to the Tribunal, Mrs. Anderson.”
CHAPTER 24
The prosecution’s next witness was another Muslim from the Prijedor area who had been stopped at the roadblock, taken to the school auditorium, and then to Omarska. He had not seen Draga, but had seen and experienced firsthand the beatings by Victor Vidic at Omarska.
Kevin’s cross-examination began as it had with Witness A. He elicited the facts about Vidic’s unkempt personal appearance and smoking and drinking habits, as contrasted with the men in black uniforms the witness had seen at the roadblock and auditorium. Then he tried to extend his gains a little further.
“Victor Vidic is a brutal human being isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is”
“Did he ever perform guard duty at the camp?”
“No.”
“Did he ever do anything at Omarska other than show up and beat people or try to extort them?”
“Not that I am aware of.”
“You knew him from before the war?”
“Yes.”
“He was in trouble with the police for violent crimes before the war started, correct?”
“Yes, he was.”
“He had been to jail?”
“I heard that he had.”
“In fact, he was in jail when the Serbs took over Prijedor, wasn’t he?”
“I’m not sure.”
Kevin turned to the judges. “Your Honors, at this time I would like to introduce a document, to be designated as Defense Exhibit 1. It is a certified copy of the records of the Prijedor jail for the months of March through May, 1992.”
Judge Orozco waited while the usher handed the document up to her and distributed copies for the other two judges and prosecutor. When she had reviewed the document, she turned to the prosecution. “Any objection?”
“Well, it’s our document,” Bradford Stone huffed. “He got it from us. We intend to offer this document into evidence ourselves.”
“Very well,” Judge Orozco said, ignoring Stone’s complaint, “Defense Exhibit 1 shall be received into evidence.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Kevin replied. “I would ask the usher to display the document on the screen.” The usher rose and placed the top piece of paper on a machine which projected the document on the computer screens in front of the trial participants and on the television screens in the visitors’ gallery.
Turning back to the witness, Kevin asked. “Would you agree that this shows that Victor Vidic was in jail in Prijedor on the day of the roadblock and had been in jail for the two months before that?”
“Yes, that’s what it looks like.”
“You’re not aware of any training that Vidic went through with the Black Dragons are you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“He was about as untrained and undisciplined a man as you ever met, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Kevin thought for an instant about stopping there. He had accomplished just about everything he had wanted in his cross-examination. Up to this point he had known the answers to the questions he had asked. From here on out, it would be a gamble.
“The prisoners talked among themselves about Victor Vidic, didn’t they?”
“Yes.”
“You had a lot of time on your hands.”
“Yes.”
“And Vidic was notorious at Omarska, especially after he slit that man’s throat.”
“Yes.”
“Victor Vidic always wore the uniform of the Black Dragons, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“But it was well known among the prisoners that he wasn’t really a Black Dragon, wasn’t it?”
Kevin held his breath waiting for the answer. Because hearsay was allowed at the Tribunal, he knew the prosecution could not object to Kevin’s question about what others had said out of court. He was guessing that the prisoners would have seen Vidic for what he was.
The witness appeared to be thinking about his answer. Then he spoke. Kevin waited for the translation. “There was a lot of talk that he was not really a Black Dragon.”
Kevin took a shallow breath and plunged further. His trial lawyer instincts told him there was more gold in the mine. “Did anyone talk about where he had gotten the Black Dragon uniform?”
“Yes.”
“Where had he gotten the uniform, from what you heard?”
“People said he had his Black Dragon uniform made by a sewing shop in Sokolaz.”
“In your opinion was Vidic under the control or command of Dragoljub Zaric, known as Draga?”
“Your Honors,” Bradford Stone was on his feet, interrupting. “We must object. There is no basis for this witness to give an opinion on that issue. He wasn’t privy to the chain of command.”
Judge Orozco looked at Kevin. “Mr. Anderson?”
“Madam President, this witness was in a position to make observations of Vidic’s behavior and to evaluate information he received from others. Because of that, his opinion would be of some assistance to the Court.”
“The objection is overruled. The witness may answer.”
Kevin wondered whether the witness would back off now that the prosecution had signaled its displeasure with the way the testimony was going. Kevin had taken control; he just needed to maintain it for these last few questions. He repeated the question. He hoped the man was as honest as he seemed.
“I don’t think Victor Vidic was under the command of Draga or anyone else. He just did what he pleased.”
“He was not a real Black Dragon, was he?”
“No.”
“Thank you. I have no further questions.” Kevin returned to his seat. Bradford Stone stood up quickly to try to repair the damage. He asked several questions in which he tried to show that his own witness didn’t really know what he had been talking about.
“You don’t really know what the relationship was between Vidic and Draga, do you?”
“No.”
“You don’t know with whom Vidic shared the property he stole from the prisoners, do you?”
“No.”
“And you don’t know whether Vidic was acting on his own or on orders from Draga, do you?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Thank you, I have no further questions.” Stone sat down, having neutralized his own witness. He looked annoyed.
“I have a question,” Judge Orozco said. “What makes you think that Vidic was not under Draga’s command?”
“He was a criminal before the war and he acted the same way during the war. He did not act like a soldier. And why would he have to pay someone to make him a uniform if he was a real Black Dragon?”
That question hung in the air as the witness was excused. While the man left the courtroom, Kevin whispered to Diane. “How are you doing?”
“Okay,” she said. “You did great with that witness. I forgot how good you are.”
“Thanks, honey. But wait until we get to the guy who saw Draga shoot someone.”
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