Karadzic plans to boycott own trial

Radovan Karadzic says he intends to boycott the start of his trial, which is set to begin in The Hague next Monday. The former Bosnian Serb politician says he has been given insufficient time to prepare his defence.

Karadzic stated his intention in a letter to the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

But a spokesperson for the tribunal said the Karadzic trial will still begin on Monday as planned. "It is up to the judges to decide if the trial gets postponed, not to Mr. Karadzic," the spokesperson said.

Karadzic, the former president of the Republika Srpska, faces genocide charges and nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995).

In his letter to the judges he said the public prosecutors have "buried" him under a million pages, which he hasn't been able to read. Since his arrest in Belgrade on July 21, 2008, and his transfer to the detention centre in The Hague, Karadzic has insisted on defending himself, but he is assisted by a legal team.

Karadzic' legal adviser Peter Robinson confirmed on Thursday his client "has not had adequate time to even read a fraction of the 1.3 million pages of documents".

Chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said Karadzic has had 15 months to prepare and his rights have been respected.

Karadzic has already tabled 270 motions on various issues since his arrest. He has also tried to have the charges against him dropped by claiming he was promised immunity in a secret deal with former US peace mediator Richard Holbrooke. The tribunal has ruled against this claim several times.

Karadzic' refusal to attend Monday's court hearing presents the tribunal with a problem as procedures do not allow for a trial in absentia.

There have been two occasions in the past when a defendant has not turned up to trial. General Veselin Sljivancanin refused to attend a hearing in 2003, but was eventually persuaded to come to court.

General Radislav Krstic, tried for genocide after the fall of Srebrenica, was absent due to a leg amputation. In the latter case the judges ruled that he had waived his right to attend after he left the case to his lawyers.