JURIST - Paper Chase: Karadzic refuses to enter pleas before ICTY on amended war crimes charges

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb leader and war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] refused to enter pleas on Tuesday to 11 amended charges [indictment, PDF] including genocide and crimes against humanity in a hearing before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website]. Last month, the ICTY granted in part [JURIST report] the prosecution's motion [text, PDF; JURIST report] to amend the indictment against Karadzic. When asked by Judge Iain Bonhomy whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty on the first charge of genocide, Karadzic responded that he would not enter pleas [video] because he believes the court has no right to try him. Bonhomy then entered on Karadzic's behalf not guilty pleas for all 11 charges.

Karadzic has previously refused to enter pleas [JURIST report], with the judge issuing not guilty pleas on his behalf. Karadzic faces 11 charges including genocide, murder, persecution, deportation, and "other inhumane acts," for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Karadzic was originally indicted [text] by the ICTY in 1995, but had been in hiding under an assumed identity until his arrest last year [JURIST report].

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