Karadzic: “This Court Has No Right To Try Me”

Refusing to recognise the authority of the Hague Tribunal to try him, Radovan Karadzic, who is charged with genocide and war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-95 war, once again declined to enter a plea.

“This Court has no right to try me,” Karadzic said, again invoking an agreement he says he reached with “the international community, represented by Richard Holbrook” after the war.

He rejected the indictment on the grounds that according to this agreement he would be exempt from criminal proceedings if he withdrew from public and political life.

The Trial Chamber recorded his refusal as a not guilty plea.

Karadzic had twice previously refused to enter a plea. The indictment charges him with genocide in Srebrenica and ten other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is further charged with taking part in a joint criminal enterprise and with crimes committed in 27 municipalities, with particular mention of the siege of Sarajevo.

Karadzic was arrested on July 21. He has been held in the Detention Unit in Scheveningen since July 31, awaiting the start of his trial.