Thursday, 5 November 2009View of empty seats where Radovan Karadzic's defense team was supposed to sit at start of trial at War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, 26 Oct 2009 A U.N. tribunal has ruled that former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will be appointed a lawyer for his war crimes trial.
Judges at the tribunal ruled Thursday the lawyer will represent Karadzic whenever he fails to appear in court. They also ruled that his trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will resume on March 1, 2010.
Karadzic has been acting as his own lawyer and has been boycotting the court proceedings at The Hague. In a brief appearance before the court Tuesday, he said he needed at least 10 additional months to prepare his defense. Karadzic said he would not take part in future proceedings unless he was granted more preparation time.
The former Bosnian Serb leader faces 11 counts that include genocide and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors say he masterminded the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of as many as 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic has vowed to cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal that is seeking to bring fugitive Ratko Mladic to justice.
In a meeting Thursday with a U.N. war crimes prosecutor, the Serbian leader said his government's cooperation is a priority.
Authorities believe Mladic is hiding in Serbia. The Bosnian Serb wartime military chief has been indicted by the war crimes tribunal for genocide for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. |
Thursday, 5 November 2009
VOA News
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