Mladic demands to choose his own lawyers, threatens with boycott

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military leader, has threatened he would not attend the plea hearing on Monday, demanding to be able to choose his own lawyers.

He wants to be represented by Belgrade-based attorney Milos Salic and another Russian lawyer, but officials from the tribunal are yet to scrutinize their qualifications and eligibility, as they have not had enough time to do that.

Even if Mladic fails to attend Monday’s hearing, preparations for the hearing are ongoing as planned, since the tribunal had not been officially informed of any planned boycott.