The genocide and war crimes trial of ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic resumed today in his absence. Mr Karadzic again stayed away from the courtroom, to the fury of those related to victims of the Srebrenica massacre who told RNW of their disappointment.

The trial of Radovan Karadzic began yesterday – but was almost immediately adjourned because of his absence. When he again refused to attend today, Judge O-Gon Kwon ruled that the trial should proceed without him. Because he had chosen not to be present, said the judge he “must therefore accept the consequences”.

Architect of ethnic cleansing
Mr Karadzic is defending himself on 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1992-95 Bosnian war. In his opening statement, prosecutor Alan Teiger described him as the “supreme commander” of ethnic cleansing and accused him of being both the architect of genocidal policies and the leader of the forces that implemented them.

Listen to a quote from the prosecutor’s opening statement

Srebrenica massacre key
Key among the charges against Mr Karadzic is the massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys after his troops over-ran the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. Present in The Hague both yesterday and today were women from the group Mothers of Srebrenica who are still seeking justice for their murdered husbands and sons.

They’d travelled 40 hours by bus hoping to come face to face with Mr Karadzic in the courtroom and were bitterly disappointed at his failure to appear. One of them, Kata Hodic, said, "I just don't understand why the court didn't force him to come. He was in hiding for fourteen years, now he should finally show himself to us".

Listen to the Newsline interview with Kata Hodic, speaking through a translator

Legal tricks
Axel Hagedorn is a Dutch lawyer representing the Mothers of Srebrenica. He's been with them outside the court building since Monday. ""Here you see that all kinds of legal tricks are being played, and that is disappointing for everyone", he says.

Listen to the interview with Axel Hagedorn

But he and his clients still hope and expect that justice will be done. "The tribunal should give him the same punishment as our men and children got from him", Ms Hotic says.

Slow justice
The trial of Radovan Karadzic has been a long time in the making. He was indicted for war crimes in 1995, but then spent 13 years in hiding before being arrested in July of last year. He is defending himself and demanded another ten months to prepare his case – the reason for his refusal to attend the trial. The prosecution is now asking the court to appoint a lawyer for him so the trial can continue without further delays.

Conscious that the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ended without a verdict after four years when he died in custody, observers believe the judges want to complete the trial before 2012, and have dealt with any appeals by 2013.
 

• English language website of the Mothers of Srebrenica
• Website of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia