Karadzic Given Time to Prepare Genocide Defence

Former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic’s trial has been suspended for two more months so he can prepare his defence against charges of genocide in 1992.

The Hague Tribunal announced on Monday that Karadzic’s trial would resume after the summer break on October 28, instead of on August 28, so he can get ready to face the 1992 genocide charges which were reinstated last month.

The Tribunal’s appeals chamber in July quashed his acquittal of genocide against Muslims and Croats in seven Bosnian municipalities in 1992.

Karadzic had requested an extra four to six months to prepare, or for the reinstated charges to be separated and heard in a completely new trial.

However the international court decided that two months’ preparation time was adequate.

As well as the reinstated 1992 genocide charges, Karadzic is accused of genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, the expulsion of Muslims and Croats across Bosnia, terrorising civilians in Sarajevo and taking international peacekeepers hostage.