JURIST - Paper Chase: Karadzic prosecutors unwilling to shorten indictment to expedite case

[JURIST] Prosecutors for the case against Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] announced Tuesday that they would not drop any charges against the accused in order to expedite the case. The UN-appointed tribunal is under pressure to wrap up proceedings within a year and asked prosecutors earlier this month to shorten the indictment. Prosecutors said that dropping any of the charges would prevent them from prosecuting him for all of his alleged crimes. The request to shorten the indictment caused rioting in Sarajevo [AP report]. Karadzic's trial, which may last up to three years, is set to begin [JURIST report] on October 19.

Karadzic faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF], including genocide and murder, for war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Last month, Karadzic sued the Serbian government for allegedly kidnapping him prior to announcing his arrest [JURIST reports] last year. He claimed that Serbian authorities officially reported his arrest three days after he was actually detained, delaying his appearance before a judge. Karadzic's capture came 13 years after being indicted by the ICTY in 1995.