Karadzic to go on trial despite announced absence

The Hague  - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was due to go on trial Monday at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague despite announcing he was insufficiently prepared for the proceedings and would not attend.

Prosecutors Alan Tieger and Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were scheduled at 9 am (0800 GMT) to deliver their opening statements, which were expected to continue two days.

Karadzic, 64, who intends to represent himself, faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including two counts of genocide, for acts allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

The tribunal, meanwhile, has continued trial preparations as planned and emphasized the tribunal was "the only relevant body that can make a decision about the readiness of the case for trial."

Still, it remained unclear what the court, presided over by South Korean judge Kwon O Gon, is to decide, if Karadzic would indeed refrain from attending the proceedings.

The tribunal's rules of procedure determine that a defendant's presence in court is essential to constitute a fair trial.

Last month, Karadzic unsuccessfully filed a motion to the appeals chamber requesting a 10-month postponement.

In Friday's six-page letter in which Karadzic informed the court of his planned absence, he repeated his defence was "not ready for trial" and would, therefore, "not appear before you." (dpa)