Radovan Karadzic boycotted the start of his UN genocide trial on Monday, forcing an adjournment for a day as the judge accused the Bosnian Serb wartime leader of obstructing the process. Karadzic, the political leader during Bosnia's 1992-95 war which left at least 100,000 dead and became notorious for the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo, refused to attend as he said he needed more time to prepare.
Neither Karadzic nor any of his legal advisors were present at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) when judge O-Gon Kwon started the hearing which lasted less than 15 minutes. Noting the absence, Kwon adjourned the hearing until Tuesday and issued an appeal, to "again encourage Mr Karadzic to attend the proceedings."
But he also launched an early warning at Karadzic, who was detained in Belgrade in July 2008 after 13 years on the run. "There are measures that can be taken should he continue to obstruct the progress of the trial," said the judge, including imposing a defence lawyer on the accused or proceeding in his absence. A member of Karadzic's legal team, Marco Sladojevic, told AFP the former leader of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb republic was unlikely to change his mind.
"I don't think he can read a million pages in one night," the lawyer said, echoing Karadzic's argument that he needed more time to study a million pages of prosecution evidence and hundreds of witness statements. Survivors of the Bosnian war reacted angrily to Monday's adjournment.
The hearing is set to continue at 14:15 pm (1315 GMT) on Tuesday for co-prosecutor Alan Tieger to make his opening statement. Kwon did not specify whether Tuesday's session would go ahead if Karadzic continued his boycott. Karadzic, 64, faces 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Bosnian war. He denies all charges but risks a life jail sentence if found guilty.