Tulsa World: Genocide trial opens without Karadzic

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Genocide trial opens without Karadzic

A Bosnian Muslim woman from the Srebrenica area who lives in a refugee center north of Sarajevo, Bosnia, reacts to a radio report Tuesday on the trial of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader on trial on war crimes charges, including the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. Karadzic refused for a second day to attend the trial. amel emric/Associated Press

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press
Published: 10/28/2009 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 10/28/2009 5:39 AM

Radovan Karadzic's words urging the destruction of Bosnia's non-Serbs rang out in a courtroom Tuesday from speeches and intercepted phone calls as U.N. prosecutors opened their war crimes case against him.

The former Bosnian Serb leader boycotted his trial for a second day despite warnings from the presiding judge of the war crimes tribunal that he could be stripped of his right to defend himself.

The trial promises to be the judicial climax of the Balkan wars of the early 1990s that left more than 100,000 people dead, most of them victims of Bosnian Serb attacks.

Prosecutor Alan Tieger called Karadzic the "undisputed leader" and "supreme commander" of the Serbs who committed atrocities during Bosnia's four-year war.

Prosecutors allege that Karadzic was the driving force behind atrocities beginning with the ethnic cleansing of towns and villages to create an ethnically pure Serb state in 1992 and culminating in Europe's worst massacre since World War II, the 1995 slaughter of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb forces.

Karadzic, who has submitted more than 250 motions to the court since he decided to represent himself, claims that he has not had enough time to prepare for his defense. He was arrested 15 months ago and first indicted in 1995.

Judge O-Gon Kwon said he would consider imposing a lawyer to represent Karadzic if he continues the boycott.

Karadzic faces 11 charges — two counts of genocide and nine others of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has refused to enter any pleas, but insists he is innocent. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Tieger played video of a notorious Karadzic speech before war broke out in which the Bosnian Serb leader predicted that Muslims would disappear from Bosnia.

"By the disappearance of the Muslim people, Karadzic meant that they would be physically annihilated," Tieger said.

Dozens of war survivors crowded into the courtroom's gallery and rooms set aside for them. Some traveled up to 30 hours on buses to attend. By MIKE CORDER Associated Press

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