Former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic was removed from the courtroom by judges at the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on Monday, after refusing to enter a plea to genocide charges. The court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

By Geraldine Coughlan, The Hague

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It is the first time the court has seen such a removal. In an emotional display at his second appearance before the court since his arrest on 26 May, Mladic objected to being told to remove his baseball cap and refused to listen to presiding judge Alphons Orie read out 11 counts in the indictment against him - including responsibility for genocide at the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in 1995.

After Orie ordered his removal, Mladic shouted at the judges, "You are not a court. Who are you? You are not allowing me to breathe," as he was led away by security guards. Ratko Mladic objected to being told by the court that he would not be given extra time to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Under court rules, if a suspect does not enter a plea within 30 days of an initial apearance, the court will enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf. The court did so.

Non-verbal communication 

The dramatic courtroom session started off with both Mladic and members of the public in the courtroom gallery being warned that any non-verbal communication between them - as at the initial appearance on 3 June - would not be tolerated by the court.

It echoed the scenes often witnessed during the Milosevic trial, the session proceeding with constant interruptions from Mladic, ignoring requests to "remain silent" and ending with Mladic telling the judge he did not want to hear a "single word" of the indictment against him, which he considers "obnoxious".

Chosen lawyers
The next step is to assign Mladic's chosen lawyers to his defence team. The court's registry asked last week for more time for Mladic to vet his list of lawyers to verify their qualifications and eligibility.

The court granted Mladic more time to consult with his two preferred lawyers: Belgrade lawyer Milos Saljic and Russian lawyer Alexander Mezyaev, who was among the advisors for former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Mezyaev has already outlined a possible defence strategy for Mladic.

More time
With such a dramatic start to such a high-profile appearance, it looks like the road to justice for Mladic will be a long and complex one.

 

Read also:

Mladic to boycott court appearance

Mladic: bluster and filibuster

Ratko Mladic: no plea to "monstrous charges"

 

(gc/imm)