Court to appoint lawyer for Karadzic
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The UN war crimes tribunal ruled yesterday that former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will be appointed a lawyer to represent him whenever he fails to appear in court.
It also postponed the resumption of his trial until March 1, 2010, when the new lawyer should be ready to take over if needed.
The decision comes after Karadzic boycotted the start of his war crimes trial last week, arguing he has not had enough time to prepare his defense.
Karadzic, accused of masterminding Serb atrocities throughout the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, faces two counts of genocide and nine other charges of crimes against humanity. He has refused to enter pleas but insists he is innocent of all charges.
The decision allows Karadzic to continue to represent himself in court for the time being. However, it said Karadzic should cooperate with the new lawyer in preparing his defense. One of his legal advisers, Marko Sladojevic, said Karadzic is still examining the ruling.
Karadzic says he has not had enough time to prepare his defense even though he was indicted in 1995 and has been in custody for 14 months.
After the prosecution’s opening statement last week, the trial will resume with Karadzic’s opening statement.
The prosecution said Karadzic, as the top political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, commanded a brutal campaign to ethnically cleanse Muslims and Croats from territory his people coveted.
