Peter Robinson - The Tribunal

Just as Ellen ran over to show Kevin and Diane the stamp, she bumped into a man walking into the Madurodam.

“Don’t I know you?” the man asked.

Ellen thought she recognized him. “You’re helping my dad, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

The man followed Ellen over to where Kevin and Diane were waiting.

“Mr. Anderson, I have just run into your lovely daughter. Or should I say, she has just run in to me,” said Zoran Vacinovic of the Serbian Embassy.

“Hello, Mr. Vacinovic. I hope Ellen wasn’t too rough with you.”

Vacinovic smiled. “Not at all. I was coming to show Mr. Golic some of Holland.”

Kevin saw his huge investigator coming up behind Vacinovic. They shook hands.

“Thank you for coming back to Holland, Mr. Golic,” Kevin said.

Golic turned to Ellen. “And how are you, young lady?”

“Great!” beamed Ellen. “I got all the questions right in my passport. Want to see?” Without waiting for an answer, she whipped out the passport and showed it to Golic.

“I just received some reports from Mr. Golic,” Vacinovic told Kevin. “I will bring them to court tomorrow. I think you will find them very interesting. And I’ve arranged for an attorney from Belgrade to be in court tomorrow as well.”

Kevin nodded. He turned to Golic. “I’m sorry to take you away from your family.”

“It is no problem.”

“How are you related to Draga anyway?”

Golic hesitated. “How do you say it in English?” he asked. Then he answered, “I am the brother of his wife.”

“The movie star?” Ellen piped in.

“Yes,” Golic said with a smile.

“Cool!”

“I don’t want to keep you and your lovely family on such a day,” Vacinovic said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” He and Golic waved goodbye and melted into the crowd.

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Diane asked.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Diane frowned. “That guy shows up at the strangest places. First he came to our house at night, now he’s at Madurodam – a children’s place – with his big friend and no kids. I don’t trust him.”

“Do you think he’s following us?” Kevin asked, open to the possibility.

“I don’t know.”

“I know one thing. Mr. Golic is not my client’s brother-in-law.”

“How do you know that?” Ellen asked.

“Do you remember how he said he was the brother of Draga’s wife?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, when I asked Draga how they were related, he said that Golic was married to one of his sisters.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Well, there’s two ways you can be a brother-in-law. You can be married to somebody’s sister, right?”

“Yeah,” Ellen said, following Kevin so far.

“Or you can be the brother of somebody’s wife.”

“I get it. Golic and Draga gave you two different stories?”

“Right.”

“You’re smart, Daddy.”

“Coming from you, that’s a real compliment.”

Kevin put his arm around Ellen as they walked back to their car.

On Monday morning, Kevin was seated at his usual place at the defense counsel table when Judge Davidson swept into the courtroom.

“Prosecutor versus Dragoljub Zaric,” the Deputy Registrar called. “Case number IT-96-30. State your appearances please.”

“Bradford Stone for the Prosecution.”

“Kevin Anderson for the accused,”

“And I am a lawyer from Belgrade, Your Honor,” the man seated next to Kevin announced. “I am an attorney for the government of Serbia and Montenegro. My government would like to join in the Motion for Return of Property filed on behalf of the accused.”

Judge Davidson looked at the lawyer sternly. “This is a hearing on Mr. Anderson’s contempt.”

“I thought perhaps the Court might address the legality of the searches of our Embassy and Mr. Anderson’s home as well, since the issues appear to be intertwined with the alleged contempt.”

Kevin appreciated the Belgrade lawyer’s use of the word “alleged.”

“We’ll see about that,” Judge Davidson muttered. Turning to Kevin, he said, “Mr. Anderson, this is the time set for you to show cause why you should not be held in contempt for violation of this Court’s protective order.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. I’m ready to call my first witness.”

“We don’t need to hear witnesses. Let me hear what you have to say for yourself.”

“Your Honor, I would like to call a witness who will establish my innocence. It will be much more convincing than anything I have to tell you.”

“Well, make it quick,” Judge Davidson grumbled.

“I call John Wells.”

Wells’ head bolted up from the back row of tables on the prosecution side of the courtroom. Bradford Stone, too, was startled, and was soon on his feet.

“Your Honor,” Stone whined. “He has no right to call our chief investigator as his witness. It’s just an excuse for mischief.”

Judge Davidson turned to Kevin. “This better be relevant to the contempt, counsel, or I’m going to cut your examination right off. Mr. Wells, come forward and take the solemn declaration.”

Wells walked to the witness chair and promised to tell the truth. When he was seated, his look of surprise had been replaced by the look of a snake coiled and ready.

“Mr. Wells,” Kevin asked pleasantly, “as part of your investigation in this matter, did you recover the box of materials from the Post Office that I was seen giving to Zoran Vacinovic at the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro?”

“Yes, I did.”

Kevin wanted to get right to the point and not give Wells an opportunity to take any gratuitous swipes at him. “It’s true, is it not, that not a single piece of paper in that box related to a protected witness or was covered by the protective order?”

Wells hesitated, trying to find a way to answer the question and damage Kevin. Finally, he replied, “That appears to be the case.”

“I have nothing further,” Kevin announced, sitting down after asking only two questions.

Judge Davidson struggled to assimilate what he had just heard. He slowly turned to Bradford Stone. “Cross-examination, Mr. Stone?”

Bradford Stone stood erect, his chin pointed in the air. “Mr. Wells,” he asked, “who did Mr. Anderson give the materials to?”

“Zoran Vacinovic,” Wells replied, then added, “a high ranking member of the secret police.”

“What ethnic group makes up the secret police?”

“They are all Serbs.”

“And who are the people most likely to retaliate against Muslim witnesses before this Tribunal?”

“The Serbs, especially those in the secret police.”

“Now, when you searched Mr. Anderson’s home, was he on the phone with someone?”

“Yes, Zoran Vacinovic.”

“And what was Mr. Anderson’s demeanor when you searched his home?”

“He was extremely hostile,” Wells responded.

“In your experience, is that the normal reaction of someone who has done nothing wrong?” Stone asked haughtily.

“People who have nothing to hide don’t act like that.”

“No further questions, Your Honor,” Stone said, sitting down triumphantly.

“Any redirect examination?” the judge asked Kevin.

Kevin was sorely tempted to take Wells on, but his instincts told him to leave it alone. Surely he would not be found in contempt simply because he was outraged at the search of his home. “No, thank you, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Stone,” Judge Davidson inquired, “do you wish to call any witnesses?”

“No, Your Honor. Mr. Anderson has called our witness for us. It is plain that Mr. Anderson violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the protective order. Conspiring with a member of the Serbian secret police is a serious matter, regardless of whether the materials were literally covered by the order or not. We don’t know what kind of information Mr. Anderson passed on to the man orally during their two hour lunch, on the telephone, or at other meetings.”