Radovan Karadzic has maintained the defiant stance of his first appearance at the war crimes tribunal in the Hague by again refusing to enter a plea. The former Bosnian Serb leader has questioned the legitimacy of the court and says he cannot plead until the prosecution files an amended indictment.

The trial is expected to start next year after procedural preparations. But as prosecutors intend to modify the 11-count indictment there could be further plea hearings, which would delay the start of the trial.

Karadzic is charged over the massacre at Srebrenica in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed at the height of the Bosnian War. He also faces accusations over concentration camps in which Bosnian Muslims and Croats were detained and in which hundreds died. Further charges relate to the siege of Sarajevo.

Karadzic was arrested last month in Belgrade after 10 years on the run. He was heavily disguised and living under a false identity.

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