BRISTOL COUNTY P.O. LOURENCO LOPES JR. INTERNS AT
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR YUGOSLAVIA

Bristol County Superior Court Probation Officer Lourenco A. "Larry" Lopes spent four months at the International Criminal Tribunal interviewing witnesses to the alleged war crimes of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Lopes, a nine-year Probation Officer, is a recent graduate of the Southern New England School of Law. He was one of several recent graduates selected to participate in an internship with the prosecutors of the war crimes tribunal in the Hague.

"I was treated as a junior prosecutor. I worked as part of a team that included an interpreter, prosecutor and myself," said Lopes.

During his internship, Lopes worked on two cases: Milosevic's and that of Viojislaz Vjeslj, a Yugoslav politician also accused of war atrocities.

In addition to interviewing witnesses, Lopes researched motions and examined exculpatory evidence.

While Lopes was at the Hague, he applied for and was accepted to the International Red Cross' annual course on Humanitarian Law which was offered in Warsaw, Poland. The 10-day course included topics such as genocide, international treaties, and rules of engagement for combatants and prisoners of war. The course ended with a weekend excursion to Krakow and Auschwitz where the Nazi concentration camps were toured.

Lopes was one of two Americans chosen to participate in the course. The other participants came from such countries as France, Great Britain, Turkey, Russia, Armenia and Uzbekistan.

Bristol Superior Court Probation Officer Lourenco Lopes Jr. (standing) who is posing in the Tribunal with assistant prosecutor Patrick Gabaake (left) and economist Mr. Horacio.