Karadzic breaks trial boycott

04/11/2009

UN judges said on Tuesday they will decide on the future of the war crimes trial against Radovan Karadzic later this week.

(Reuters, AFP, AP, DPA, BBC, CNN, FT, The Christian Science Monitor, VOA, Beta, B92 - 03/11/09; AP, AFP, DPA, VOA, FT, BBC - 02/11/09)

A television set at a coffee shop in Sarajevo broadcasts the trial of wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Tuesday (November 3rd). [Getty Images]

Eight days after the launch of his war crimes trial in The Hague, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appeared in court for the first time Tuesday (November 3rd) to demand ten more months to prepare his defence.

"I don't want to boycott these proceedings, but I cannot take part in something that has been bad from the start, or where my fundamental rights have been violated," he told judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). "The situation is such that I would really be a criminal if I were to accept these conditions -- to enter into a trial and proceedings for which I am not prepared."

Karadzic, who is charged with 11 counts of war crimes, including two of genocide, for his role in the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), said he needs more time to be able to review the "1.3 million pages" of prosecution documents he has received since May.

Five days before the start of his trial on October 26th, Karadzic, who is acting as his own attorney, sent a letter to presiding Judge O-Gon Kwon, saying he would not participate in the process, because it was not ready to begin. As he failed to appear at the first three hearings on his case, judges called Tuesday's "status conference" to discuss how to proceed with the trial in the event Karadzic's boycott continues.

Kwon advised Karadzic to rethink his strategy.

"It is the trial chamber, not an accused person, which determines readiness for trial," Kwon said at Tuesday's hearing. "It is in your best interest to attend and participate fully in the trial so that justice can be done."

UN prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff told the court that one option for resolving the current standoff is to strip Karadzic of his right to represent himself. Another possible solution is to appoint a stand-by lawyer, who could step in if the defendant agreed to participate but later renewed his boycott. The court could also impose a defence counsel, which could delay the trial by several months, but would be a "reasonable price", said Uertz-Retzlaff.

"Mr Karadzic cannot be permitted to manipulate the proceedings through his decision not to attend," Uertz-Retzlaff said. "If necessary, force can be used to secure his presence in the courtroom."

Kwon said a written decision on how to proceed would be released later this week. He cancelled the prosecution witness hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Wrapping up their opening statements Monday, UN prosecutors said Karadzic he was responsible for the July 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, where more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.

"Radovan Karadzic ordered the operation against Srebrenica, which was a culmination of his efforts to cleanse eastern Bosnia to ensure the Serb state that he envisioned," prosecutor Alan Tieger said. "He covered up the mass expulsions and the murders and continues to do so to this day, and the only regret he had of the entire operation was that some Muslim men got away."

The charges of genocide against Karadzic relate also to the 43-month siege of Sarajevo that claimed an estimated 10,000 lives.

He could face life in prison if convicted.