Karadzic to defend himself before international court
Captured Bosnian Serb genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic is to defend himself before the UN war crimes court,his lawyer said Wednesday, raising memories of the trial of his late ally, Slobodan Milosevic.
Karadzic, who stands indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity, was arrested in Belgrade Monday,having evaded capture for more than a decade partly thanks to a fake identity as an alternative health guru.
"Karadzic will have a legal team in Serbia that will help him with his defense but he will defend himself" at the ICTY, his lawyer Svetozar Vujacic said.
Vujacic had said Tuesday that he would file an appeal against Karadzic being sent to the court, in a bid to postpone the transfer for as long as possible.
"I will lodge the complaint on the last day of the deadline, on Friday. I do not think it will be adopted, but I will disrupt their plans to transfer him," Vujacic said, estimating Karadzic might not be transferred "before the end of next week."
Under Serbia's law on cooperation with the ICTY, suspects can appeal their transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal before a special committee approves the move.
The process could take up to nine days, but Serbia's warcrimes prosecution has said it expects Karadzic to be sent to the UN court by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
Since his arrest, the public's imagination has been captured by the reports of the fake identity Karadzic forged as an alternative medicine guru which enabled him to avoid being detected for so long.
Karadzic, 63, had made himself virtually unrecognizable to eke out a living through the practice under the false name of Dragan Dabic. He disguised himself under flowing white hair, a thick beard, glasses and a white Panama hat, enabling him to move freely throughout Belgrade and several Serbian towns.
But after leading many astray for nearly a year, Karadzic was finally tracked down and nabbed by security forces on a suburban bus in the Serbian capital after an apparent tip-off.
Karadzic faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities before the UN tribunal.
Karadzic, who stands indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity, was arrested in Belgrade Monday,having evaded capture for more than a decade partly thanks to a fake identity as an alternative health guru.
"Karadzic will have a legal team in Serbia that will help him with his defense but he will defend himself" at the ICTY, his lawyer Svetozar Vujacic said.
Vujacic had said Tuesday that he would file an appeal against Karadzic being sent to the court, in a bid to postpone the transfer for as long as possible.
"I will lodge the complaint on the last day of the deadline, on Friday. I do not think it will be adopted, but I will disrupt their plans to transfer him," Vujacic said, estimating Karadzic might not be transferred "before the end of next week."
Under Serbia's law on cooperation with the ICTY, suspects can appeal their transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal before a special committee approves the move.
The process could take up to nine days, but Serbia's warcrimes prosecution has said it expects Karadzic to be sent to the UN court by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
Since his arrest, the public's imagination has been captured by the reports of the fake identity Karadzic forged as an alternative medicine guru which enabled him to avoid being detected for so long.
Karadzic, 63, had made himself virtually unrecognizable to eke out a living through the practice under the false name of Dragan Dabic. He disguised himself under flowing white hair, a thick beard, glasses and a white Panama hat, enabling him to move freely throughout Belgrade and several Serbian towns.
But after leading many astray for nearly a year, Karadzic was finally tracked down and nabbed by security forces on a suburban bus in the Serbian capital after an apparent tip-off.
Karadzic faces 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities before the UN tribunal.
Labels: arrest, Belgrade, Bosnian Serb genocide, defend, disguised, International Court, Radovan Karadzic, tribunal, UN, UN court, war crimes
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