“Yes. Everyone goes on holiday.”
That was news to Kevin. If he didn’t get hired by the end of this month, he would be out of work for August as well. A quarter of his planned year here would have been frittered away – leaving only nine months left. The prosecutor’s office might not even want someone for such a short stint. His prospects appeared to be dimming further.
When Nihudian’s tram arrived, the Bosnian shook Kevin’s hand before boarding.
“Thanks, Kevin. I feel so much better with you on my side.”
Kevin hoped his client would feel the same way after testifying.
That afternoon, Kevin delivered the Harry Potter book to a very thankful reader.
“Oh, Daddy!” Ellen exclaimed, throwing her arms around Kevin’s neck. She ran into the living room, sat down on the couch, and began reading.
For the next week, Kevin would hardly hear a peep from her.
The day before Nihudian was to testify, Kevin called Mrs. Kelly.
He had told Diane that he was waiting for some paperwork to be completed before starting at the Tribunal. But now, three weeks had passed.
“Still no good news,” Mrs. Kelly said sadly. “But I hear you have a new client.”
“Oh, I’m just helping out a prosecution witness,” Kevin said, embarrassed that word had gotten to her. “But I’m afraid I may have offended Mr. Stone.”
“He’s a bother. It was a mistake to have hired that pompous young man in the first place.”
“He told me I’d never work as a prosecutor there. Do you think that’s true?”
“I don’t know. He does seem to have the ear of the Chief Deputy, Mr. Oswald, I’m sorry to say. I’d send in that defense counsel application. There’s no word on the funding freeze, and who knows what mischief Bradford Stone might cause.”
Kevin thanked Mrs. Kelly and hung up the phone. When Diane and Ellen came home from the American School, Kevin was glum.
“We need to talk,” he said over dinner that night. “It seems there’s a funding freeze on in the prosecutor’s office and they can’t hire me after all. And this prosecutor, Bradford Stone, seems to have it out for me. We might have to go back home at the end of the summer.”
“I just got used to being in Holland, Dad,” Ellen whined. “I’m not ready to go back home. I want to go to the American School for sixth grade with my new friends.”
Kevin looked at Diane for her reaction. She seemed to be thinking.
“Is there any other work you could do for the court, like being an assistant to a judge?” she asked finally.
“No. The only other thing I can do is put my name on the court’s list of defense lawyers. I don’t want to do that. I’m a prosecutor.”
“You’re defending Nihudian,” Ellen piped up. “He’s not a bad guy, right?”
“He’s just a witness,” he said. “That’s not the same. I’ve always been on the side of the good guys.”
“That bully Stone isn’t one of the good guys,” Ellen retorted.
“The prosecutors here do seem like they have too much power,” Kevin said. “The Tribunal probably needs good defense lawyers to keep them honest. But I just don’t think it’s for me.”
Diane took a sip of wine. “You wouldn’t be defending Milosevic or any of those war criminals who did all that ethnic cleansing, would you?”
As if recoiling from her own words or thoughts, she looked up with a start. “Those people were no better than the Nazis.”
Her normally warm brown eyes had turned hard and piercing.
“I want to stay here, Daddy,” Ellen said. “Please, please. You always tell me to try new things. I am, and I like it.”
“Well, I suppose I can put in the application anyway and keep our options open,” Kevin said, more to not disappoint his daughter than anything. “I hear it’s difficult to get assigned a case though, so don’t count on it. The defendants all want Yugoslavian lawyers who speak their language. They probably won’t trust an American, especially one who’s spent his career as a prosecutor.”
“Just go for it, Dad. They’ll want you once they find out how good you are.”
Diane frowned, but kept her thoughts to herself.
The next morning, Kevin tucked the defense application into his jacket before leaving the house.
“I’ve put a magic spell on you, Daddy,” Ellen said. “You’re invincible today. Or did the spell say invisible? Oh well.”
“Invisible might be good,” he laughed.
Kevin gave her a big hug as she squirmed to get away.
“Good luck,” Diane said, giving Kevin a quick kiss as they stood in the doorway.
She had surprised him by taking to Holland so well. He thought she’d jump at the chance to return home to California. She did seem to be enjoying herself, having found work she enjoyed and some new local friends. Kevin realized that if they were forced to return home early, he would have two disappointed females on his hands.
At the Tribunal, Kevin left his completed application with Mrs. Kelly. He nervously waited for Nihudian in the lobby. What if Nihudian didn’t show up? Bradford Stone would surely think Kevin was behind it. Nihudian would be a fugitive, and Kevin would be charged with aiding and abetting. His imagination was in overdrive.
To Kevin’s relief, Nihudian appeared right on schedule.
“I told the people at the Embassy about my situation,” Nihudian said. “They were very understanding, but they thought it was best that I should not continue my work here. So, I am going home tonight.”
“I’m sorry you lost your job over this.”
“It’s for the best. My daughters were so happy when I called and told them I will be home tonight. I have missed them.”
“How old are they?” Kevin asked.
“Eleven years and seven years.”
“My little girl is eleven. Daughters are pretty great.”
Nihudian got a dreamy look in his eyes. “The best, my friend. God’s gift.”
A few minutes before 9:30, Bradford Stone appeared in the lobby and summoned Nihudian, without greeting Kevin. While Nihudian went with Stone, Kevin was escorted to the Courtroom 2 visitors’ gallery. Kevin felt nervous for Nihudian.
Once the session started, Bradford Stone slowly and thoroughly led Nihudian through the events chronologically, beginning with Nihudian’s training. He ended with Nihudian reading entries from the parts of the notebooks that the prosecution thought important to its case.
Stone’s direct examination took about one hour. The judges seemed satisfied with Nihudian’s direct answers. Kevin held his breath as Vladimir Krasnic, the defense lawyer, rose from his chair to begin his cross-examination.
Krasnic launched into a highly technical discussion about the capability of the interception equipment. He questioned whether the model Nihudian was using was as effective as other models. He asked about the radio frequency used when intercepting the conversations. Nihudian’s answers were simple.
“I don’t know how the equipment worked,” he replied more than once. “I just turned it on and wrote down what I heard.”
After about forty-five minutes of technical questions, Krasnic told the judges. “I have just a few more questions, Your Honors.”
Kevin allowed himself to relax a bit. Maybe Nihudian would get through this without any hitches. Or was the lawyer saving his best cross-examination for last?
“Did you yourself commit any war crimes?”
“No.”
“Did you murder any civilians?”
“No.”
“Did you rape any women?”
“No.”
“Did you treat any prisoners inhumanely?”
“No.”
“Yet it is true, is it not, that before you would speak to the prosecution in this case, you insisted on having a lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“Now, you are not a wealthy man, are you?”
“No.”
“Yet you retained a lawyer
from the United States to represent you did you not?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did the Bosnian government pay for your lawyer?”
“No.”
“You paid him with your own funds?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell this Court how much you paid this lawyer?”
Kevin looked at Bradford Stone in anticipation. That question was irrelevant. There should be an objection. But Stone sat there silently.
“One Euro.”
“One Euro, that’s all?”
“Yes.”
The President of the trial chamber, the woman from Kenya, interrupted. “Witness,” she asked, “what kind of lawyer would work for one Euro?”
Before Nihudian could answer, Bradford Stone was on his feet. But it was not to make an objection. “You can see for yourself,” Stone announced. “The lawyer is sitting right there. His name is Kevin Anderson, or something.” He pointed to Kevin, sitting in the small booth on the other side of the glass.
All eyes turned to Kevin. Kevin fought to keep himself from turning beet red, a battle that he lost. He also tried to look confident, but felt unbelievably embarrassed.
“I guess you get what you pay for,” Stone volunteered, offering Kevin a snide smile. There was laughter in the courtroom.
The judges shook their heads. “Perhaps we are paying our assigned counsel too much,” the Australian judge observed dryly.
More laughter.
Kevin was devastated. He had been made to look a fool. He had represented Nihudian to protect his rights. None of that had come out. Instead, he was the object of ridicule.
“Why did he ask how much I paid you?” Nihudian asked when they met in the lobby.
“I don’t know what that was supposed to prove.”
“I’m sorry, Kevin, if they embarrassed you. If they gave me the chance, I would have told them what a great lawyer you are. And a great friend.”
“It’s alright, Nihudian,” Kevin replied. “You were a truthful and credible witness. It’s been an honor to be your lawyer.”
Kevin and Nihudian walked out of the Tribunal together.
“You have my address and e-mail,” Kevin said. “Be sure and keep in touch.”
Nihudian took Kevin’s hand and shook it firmly. “I will someday repay you, Kevin Anderson.” He turned and headed down the street.
Kevin walked over to his bicycle. His first case at the Tribunal was over. It had been a success for the client, and a disaster for himself.
Not feeling much like returning to the Tribunal that day, he got on his bicycle and rode home to Wassenaar. Things sure weren’t turning out the way they were supposed to.
Over the next two weeks, Kevin called Mrs. Kelly twice, but nothing had changed. It was almost the end of July. The Tribunal would be closed in August. It looked like Ellen would not be attending the American School after all.
On the Wednesday of the last week of July, Kevin was alone in the house, taking his turn reading the latest Harry Potter book, when the phone rang.
“Mr. Anderson, I’m with the defense unit at the Tribunal. We have a case for you if you’re available.”
Kevin’s heart started beating faster.
“Great,” he said, not sure whether it was great or not.
“The accused was arrested last night by the United Nations forces. And he speaks English. Do you want the assignment as his temporary counsel? As you know, it will be up to the accused whether to select you as his permanent counsel.”
Kevin’s mind was racing. His instincts told him that if he asked to think it over, the assignment would go to someone else. With the prosecutor’s job looking virtually hopeless, Kevin had the sense that it was now or never for him at the Tribunal. It wouldn’t hurt just to be someone’s temporary lawyer.
“Yes, I’ll accept the assignment.”
“Good. You can go out to the detention center and meet your new client tomorrow. His court appearance will be the day after tomorrow at 2:00.”
“Thank you for selecting me.”
“You can thank your friend – the Irish one.”
Kevin smiled at the thought of Mrs. Kelly. “I’ll do that. Goodbye, now.”
“Wait! Don’t you want to know your client’s name?”
“That would help.” Kevin was a rookie at this defense business.
“Dragoljub Zaric.”
That name meant nothing to Kevin.
“He is better known as Draga,” said the court official.
Now Kevin remembered reading something about “Draga” in the local English-language newspaper a few weeks earlier. He was a flamboyant Serbian fugitive they’d been trying to find for some time. Kevin wondered what he might be getting himself into.
“Can you tell me anything else about him?”
“Well, he commanded a paramilitary group called – the Black Dragons.”
“And the charge?” Kevin asked, holding his breath.
“Genocide.”
CHAPTER 5
Kevin’s body tingled with excitement, but he dreaded telling Diane.
He knew he had made a kind of promise to his wife, but at the same time he was sick and tired of being on the sidelines. In his heart, he knew that he would never get a job with the prosecutor’s office – even if the funds became available any time soon. He had made too many stout adversaries in that department.
When he heard the gate open and saw Diane and Ellen walking their bicycles into the back yard, Kevin opened the door and greeted them.
Once they were all inside, he could wait no longer.
“I’ve got some news. I’ve been assigned as temporary defense counsel at the Tribunal.”
“Does that mean we can stay, Daddy?” Ellen asked excitedly.
“I don’t know yet,” he said cautiously. “The defendant will have to decide to keep me, and I’ll – well, there’s some other considerations.”
“Well, I guess congratulations are in order,” Diane smiled wanly.
“Goody, goody,” Ellen squealed. “We can stay!”
That night, alone in the living room, Kevin switched on CNN. The story he was looking for came third after the top of the hour.
“United Nations troops arrested the infamous Serbian warlord Draga last night at the Romanian border with Serbia,” the announcer reported. “The arrest of Dragoljub Zaric was made after a rival Serbian gang reportedly kidnapped him and delivered him to U.N. officials. Zaric has now been transported to The Hague where, along with Slobodan Milosevic, he becomes one of the most significant persons arrested for the War Crimes Tribunal.”
A picture of a brash, confident man in his mid-thirties, tall, and well groomed, flashed on the screen. He was wearing a black beret and black Ninja-like uniform. Other footage showed him at his wedding, when he was married to a popular Serbian movie star, and at a Belgrade stadium cheering on the local soccer team.
Kevin found a yellow legal pad and began jotting down notes.
“The Black Dragons, a paramilitary group headed by Draga, is believed responsible for thousands of deaths during the war in Bosnia. Draga has been one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives. In addition to his alleged war crimes, Draga is wanted by authorities in Belgium, Sweden, and Germany for a string of robberies in the 1980s. He previously escaped from a German prison. Security is expected to be tight when he makes his first appearance before the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal.”
Kevin turned off the TV as the announcer went on to the next story.
He was surprised to see that he had been silently joined by Diane and Ellen.
“Is that your client, Daddy?” asked Ellen, wide-eyed.
“Well, for the time being,” he said, sneaking a quick look at Diane.
“He’s handsome,” Ellen said. “He can’t be all bad – a movie star married him. Will you be on TV, too, Daddy?”
“Ellen, you have that report to work on,” Diane said sternly. “Run upstairs now.”
When they were
alone, Diane sat on the couch. She put her head in her hands.
“When you went to Seattle and prosecuted that Neo-Nazi group, I was so proud of you. I was hoping I’d feel the same way about your work here. But now – ”
“Look, honey,” he stammered, “this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
Kevin saw that her face was filled with pain and fury.
“Not what you had in mind? Kevin, are you crazy? Milosevic is Bosnia’s Hitler and this guy Draga is Himmler for God’s sake! And you’re his defense lawyer?”
“I – uh, well, I really didn’t know who he was when I agreed.”
“You know now! What are you going to do about it?”
“I have a responsibility here, Diane. I’ll have to meet with him. It’s just temporary.”
“You’re on the wrong side!” she hissed.
Diane rushed from the room.
The next day, Kevin rode his bicycle to the Tribunal’s detention center, located at a Dutch prison near the dunes at Scheveningen. It was not far from where he and Nihudian had eaten fries with mayonnaise.
At its entrance was a huge brick gate with a coat of arms on the top. The prison complex, built in the 19th century, had been used by the Nazis to imprison members of the Dutch resistance when Germany occupied Holland during World War II.
After showing his ID and passing through a metal detector, Kevin was directed to a brick building called “Unit 4,” and eventually to a windowless interview room.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Kevin found himself face to face with the infamous Draga. He seemed even bigger than he had on television. His muscular arms were huge.
“I’m Kevin Anderson.” Kevin extended his right hand. “The Tribunal has assigned me to be your lawyer – at least for the time being.”
Draga looked at Kevin’s hand, but did not take it. He remained standing.
“An American?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t need a lawyer.”
Kevin looked up at Draga standing over him, trying not to show any fear.
“What do you mean you don’t need a lawyer?”
The TRIBUNAL Page 5