Court rejects Karadzic plea for time

Radovan Karadzic has again vowed not to attend his war crimes trial unless he is given more time to prepare his defence.

The former Bosnian Serb leader was appearing for the first time since the trial began last week, at the international tribunal in The Hague. He told the court that he had not been able to go through more than one million pages of evidence.

Karadzic, who’s representing himself, said he didn’t want to boycott the proceedings. But he added that he could not take part in something that was “bad from the start”, where his “fundamental rights” had been “violated”, arguing that by law he should be given the time and conditions to prepare his defence.

The presiding judge rejected his arguments, saying the court had already determined that he’d had ample time to get ready.

The prosecution suggested that Karadzic should be forced to attend, or have legal representation imposed if he continued not to co-operate.

The trial was adjourned for a few days to allow the judges to decide how it should continue.

Radovan Karadzic faces 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role during the Bosnian war of the 1990s.

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tags: Karadžić, USA, War crimes