The Karadzic trial: history repeating itself?
Tuesday 03 November 2009By EU Reporter Correspondents
The former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic (64), boycotted the start of his trial at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague that opened on October 26th. The accused was not present for two consecutive days, in spite of the Chamber’s oral and written request and warnings. Karadzic refused to appear, claiming not to have had time to prepare answers to the allegations against him. The reason he put forward to justify his absence was that he still needs at least nine months to prepare his defence due to the scope of the case, which supposedly involves one million pages of evidence, numerous crime scenes and hundreds of witnesses.
After 13 years in hiding, Karadzic was taken to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague more than a year ago. Last week his chair remained empty at the trial in which he was to be representing himself, although not a trained lawyer. "He simply doesn't believe there's enough time to prepare his defence" his legal counsel from Belgrade said. Thus, the defendant who denies all charges relating to the Bosnian war of the 1990s, decided to stay away. This choice is hardly surprising, when he faces charges of genocide, extermination and murder. The Serb ringleader is indicted of being behind the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995 and a multitude of other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians during the 1992-1995 war. Moreover, he is also charged with taking part in the 44 month siege of Sarajevo, where 12,000 people died in the shelling and sniping of the city.
Outlining this case, there are remarkable similarities with the trial of Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The former Yugoslav president spun his case out through repeated delaying tactics, until his sudden death in 2006. At present, Karadzic is regarded as the man ultimately responsible for the bloodshed that ripped Yugoslavia apart. If this time, the Serb perpetrator continues to boycott his trial, the ICTY runs the risk of facing the same problems as with the Milosevic’ case.
Even though Karadzic had previously said he would co-operate with the court to prove his innocence, the fact that he did not show up has given many cause for concern. Adjourning the trial Judge Kwon said the defendant had chosen not to exercise his right to be present and "must therefore accept the consequences". The court would therefore consider imposing a lawyer to represent the indicted if he continued to boycott proceedings. Mr Karadzic is due to give his opening declaration next week. The judges, however, have urged the trial to continue. Due to the complexity and immensity of this case, the court's judges have asked the prosecution to reduce the scale of the trial, since it is foreseen that proceedings will not be completed before early 2012.
In a separate case, former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, who pleaded guilty to her part in the Bosnian War and is also convicted of war crimes, is due to be released. She was sentenced in 2003 to 11 years in a Swedish jail but a Swedish court has allowed her early release for good behaviour.
Survivors of the Bosnian war have been shocked at the recent events. These developments have given way to disappointment and mistrust. Victims of the conflict are now questioning the justice of the system, established to deal with the unfinished business of the Bosnian war.
There are many war criminals, however, and many of them will unfortunately never be tried, since no court or judge can provide justice for each killing, or act of slaughter and abuse committed. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, there are always gaps for impunity. However, for Karadzic the time has come. There are now enormous expectations that he will not be one of those who slips through the gaps and a little justice can this time be done.