Defence seeks Karadzic acquittal, says no genocide in Bosnia

THE HAGUE - Agence France-Presse

A picture taken on November 3, 2009 shows Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom of the ICTY War Crimes tribunal in the Hague. AFP photo

Lawyers for Radovan Karadzic on Monday asked the Yugoslav war crimes court to acquit the former Bosnian Serb leader, arguing that no genocide took place in Bosnia in 1992.
 
"Dr Karadzic requests a judgement of acquittal pursuant to rule 98 bis for counts one to 11," said his lawyer Peter Robinson at a public hearing at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.
 
"There was no genocide in the municipalities in Bosnia in 1992... there is no way the trial can conclude that Dr Karadzic is guilty of genocide," he added.
 
Once the most powerful leader among Bosnian Serbs, Karadzic, 66, faces 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role in the conflict which left some 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million homeless.
 
He is particularly wanted for masterminding the killings that followed the Serbs' capture of the eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995.
 
Close to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered over the course of a few days in Europe's worst attrocity since World War II.
 
Under the tribunal's rules, the defence is allowed to seek acquittal after the prosecution has presented its case. Judges are then required to rule on the request before the defence puts forward its case, a process expected to begin on October 16.
 
Karadzic was arrested on a Belgrade bus in July 2008, 13 years after he was first indicted by the ICTY for his part in the conflict.
 
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted he could face life behind bars.