Serbia/UN

Karadzic to make first court appearance Thursday

Article published on the 2008-07-30 Latest update 2008-07-30 10:46 TU

Karadzic's helicopter arrives at The Hague
(Photo: Reuters)

Radovan Karadzic is to appear before the UN war crimes tribunal for the first time on Thursday, a court statement says. The former Bosnian-Serb president will be asked to enter a plea on the 11 counts against him. The court's Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz declared that Karadzic is accused of "heinous crimes" and praised the Serbian authorities for handing him over.

Brammertz, who heads the case aginst Karadzic at the International Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), said that Serbia's government and officials had given "full co-operation" in sending him to The Hague.

He predicted that the trial will be "long and complex" but said that he did not known whether Karadzic will conduct his own defence, as did former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic during part of the case against him.

Karadzic will be charged with 11 counts, including genocide, arising from the 1992-95 war in Bosnia. The inidictment also lists extermination, murder and persecution in the alleged pursuit of ethnic cleansing which aimed to drive Muslims and Croats out of Serb-controlled areas. 

"The Serbian authorities' arrest of Radovan Karadzic and subsequent transfer constitute an important stage in the process of reconciliation in the Western Balkans and Serbia's rapprochement with the European Union," the EU's French presidency said.

It called on Belgrade to find two remaining fugitives, Bosnian-Serb military leader Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, accused of war crimes in Croatia.

The Netherlands and Belgium have insisted that their capture is a condition for consideration of Serbia's case for membership of the EU.