Karadzic appears before UN war crimes court

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

THE HAGUE (AFP) — Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic stood before the UN war crimes court Thursday to face genocide charges, in his first public appearance since his arrest after nearly 13 years on the run.

Shorn of the beard and long hair he had used as a disguise until his capture on July 21, Karadzic was again recognisable as the man who became one of the most reviled figures in the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s.

Wearing a dark jacket and tie, Karazdic appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to hear the 11 war crimes charges which were first laid against him in 1995.

Karadzic has indicated that he will conduct his own defence -- the same tactic adopted by his former ally late Serbian president Slobodan...