By Otto Spijkers

As the whole world knows, Radovan Karadžic is currently a detainee at the Detention Unit of the ICTY. The rights of detainees are determined by the Rules of Detention. These Rules also define the word ‘detainee’ as ‘any person detained awaiting trial or appeal before the Tribunal.’ Rule 5 prescribes that ‘all detainees, other than those who have been convicted by the Tribunal, are presumed to be innocent until found guilty and are to be treated as such at all times.’ Because they are presumed innocent, detainees have a certain freedom of movement, albeit very limited (they have no internet access, for example, which seems to be a basic necessity these days, perhaps even a human right). 

Rule 4 prescribes that ‘a detainee is entitled to observe his religion or beliefs.’ Rules 66-68 of the Rules of Detention describe in some detail what this right to ‘spiritual welfare’ entails exactly.

I was intrigued by a picture of the Spiritual Room, one of the common rooms the detainees share, where the detainee can enjoy his ‘spiritual freedom’ and meet with accredited representatives of his faith. 

This is what the Spiritual Room looks like (I have no comment; I just think this picture is a work of art):