Karadzic Attends UN War Crimes Court for 1st Time

FILE -- In an Aug. 29, 2008 file photo, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, is seen in...

FILE -- In an Aug. 29, 2008 file photo, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, is seen in the courtroom at the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands. Marko Sladojevic, legal adviser for Radovan Karadzic, says the former Bosnian Serb leader will boycott his genocide trial Monday Nov. 2, 2009, to protest what he claims is a lack of time to prepare for the trial, but prosecutors will continue without him and are scheduled to finish their opening statement later Monday. (AP Photo/ Valerie Kuypers, file)

(AP)

Radovan Karadzic appeared at his U.N. war crimes trial on Tuesday for the first time since it began last week, claiming his "fundamental rights have been violated" by judges who started without him.

The former Bosnian Serb leader, accused of masterminding Serb atrocities throughout the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, had boycotted the first three days of the trial. On Tuesday, Karadzic, who is defending himself, again insisted that he needed more time to prepare.

"I do not want to boycott these proceedings, but I cannot take part in something that has been bad from the start and where my fundamental rights have been violated," Karadzic said.

Karadzic faces two counts of genocide and nine other charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. He has refused to enter pleas, but insists he is innocent of all charges.

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The prosecution's two-day opening statement portrayed Karadzic as the supreme commander of a brutal campaign to ethnically cleanse Muslims and Croats from Bosnian Serb claimed territory. The campaign included the deadly 44-month siege of the capital, Sarajevo, and culminated in the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica.

Prosecutor Hildegard Uertz-Retzlaff urged judges to impose a court-appointed lawyer on Karadzic so that the case can continue even if he continues his boycott.

"Mr. Karadzic cannot be allowed to manipulate the proceedings through his decision to not attend hearings," she said.

However, she acknowledged that if a new lawyer is appointed to represent Karadzic, the attorney may need months to prepare.

She told judges they could also force Karadzic into court if he continues his boycott.

"If necessary, force can be used to secure his presence in the court room," she said.

Presiding Judge O-Gon Kwon said judges would issue a written ruling later in the week on how to proceed. He canceled a trial hearing scheduled for Wednesday and adjourned the trial pending the ruling.