JURIST - Paper Chase: ICTY prosecutors to amend Karadzic indictment

[JURIST] Prosecutors told the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] Wednesday that they plan to revise the charges against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] by Monday. Appearing in the war crimes tribunal's Trial Chamber, prosecutor Alan Tieger said he would seek court permission to amend an indictment [text] issued in 2000. He did not specify whether charges would be added to or removed from the 11 pending counts, which include genocide, murder, persecution, deportation and "other inhumane acts." Also at the hearing, Karadzic reiterated his desire to represent himself, as well as his claim [JURIST report] that Richard Holbrooke [PBS profile], former US ambassador to the UN, had promised him immunity conditioned upon removing himself from public life. Judge Iain Bonomy [official profile] said the court, in ruling on Karadzic's motions [JURIST report] related to that defense, would consider whether such an agreement could bind an international court. If the court approves the amended indictment, Karadzic will be asked to enter new pleas. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

Also on Wednesday, Serbian media reported that Karazdic would testify [B92 report] as part of an appeal brought by Momcilo Krajisnik [ICTY backgrounder], who was sentenced [judgment, PDF; JURIST report] to 27 years in prison for crimes similar to those of which Karadzic is accused. Karadzic was arrested [JURIST report] in July after evading capture for nearly 13 years. He was originally indicted in 1995 but had been in hiding under an assumed identity as an alternative medicine practitioner [BBC report]. He is accused of involvement in the Srebrenica [JURIST news archive] massacre and other war crimes against Bosnian Muslims and Croats during ethnic conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. On Monday, former Bosnian army commander Rasim Delic was convicted [JURIST report] of cruel treatment by the ICTY Trial Chamber and sentenced to three years in prison.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...