2006-02-01

Who's got a secret?

The petition for release pending trial by the former "VRS" colonel Jovo Đogo, arrested on suspicion of assisting in the harboring of the fugitive Ratko Mladić, has been denied, according to his lawyer. This neither surprising nor particularly interesting. Much more interesting is the last sentence of B92's article about the fact, according to which "the court in the meantime declared the case to be a state secret." Clearly it is not a secret that Mr Đogo has been arrested, and the nature of the charges against him is also not secret. Nor is his relationship with official institutions secret, and neither are the relationships of other people believed to be accomplices the operation secret (they are active military officers). So what would the motivation be for declaring a state secret? Here are some possibilities:
  1. The interests and reputation of the state are involved (i.e., the operation involves individuals and institutions working on the basis of something other than individual initiative)
  2. The ongoing operations of the state are involved (i.e., as has been recognised by some but denied elsewhere, there is continuing contact between state institutions and the fugitive)
  3. The past operations of the state are involved (i.e., the collusion between representatives of state institutions and the fugitive dates back some time, and may involve current officials)
  4. Investigations by state institutions are involved (i.e., currently active prosecutions and investigations may make use of information which the defendant is expected to provide)
The list is not exhaustive, of course. For now, it would have to be guess which motivation explains the most.

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