Karadzic to appear at war crimes trial

Radovan Karadzic says he will appear at his trial in the Hague this afternoon. The former Bosnian Serb leader has boycotted proceedings so far, saying he needed more time to defend himself.

On Monday, he failed to appear to face charges of genocide and war crimes. The prosecution presented evidence accusing him of ordering the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica.

The prosecutor Allan Tieger quoted what he said were Karadzic’s words to the Bosnian assembly on 6th August 1995, during which he “praised and took credit for the Srebrenica operation”:
“All decisions recorded in supreme command I ordered in verbal and written form to attack Zepa and Srebrenica”.

Radovan Karadzic was taken to the International Criminal Tribunal last year, after 13 years in hiding. He protests his innocence and has decided to represent himself at the trial.

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tags: ICTY, Radovan Karadžić, War crimes