THE HAGUE // The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has said it is unimaginable he could get a fair trial at the UN war crimes tribunal because the world's media have already branded him a war criminal.
In a submission published by the tribunal today and apparently the document Mr Karadzic, 63, wanted to read in court a day earlier, he detailed "drastic irregularities" in his case.
He accused the international media of conducting a "witch-hunt" against him and "proclaimed me a war criminal at a time when the only victims were Serbs".
This had continued in the international media, he said.
"It is now unimaginable to many people that this court could acquit me. I believe that this fact seriously jeopardises the trial itself."
An occasionally combative Mr Karadzic appeared before The Hague court for the first time yesterday to face 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including two of genocide over the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica.
He declined to enter a plea and demanded more time to study a new indictment and consider his plea.
In the four-page document Mr Karadzic repeated and expanded on the charge he made in court that in 1996 the US peace mediator Richard Holbrooke had offered him immunity from the tribunal if he disappeared from public life.
Mr Karadzic said he had tried to seek the same deal for Gen Ratko Mladic, also charged with genocide and still a fugitive, but once Mr Holbrooke realised he could not persuade the court's chief prosecutor to drop the indictment he decided to "liquidate" him instead.
Mr Holbrooke said there was "zero" truth to the claims.
"Such a deal would have been immoral and unethical ... It obviously didn't happen," he said in Washington yesterday.
Mr Karadzic continued in the document that he would have surrendered to the tribunal had prosecution investigators in Bosnia not passed themselves off as court representatives and tricked the Bosnian Serb government.
"It then became clear to me that I could not come before the tribunal," Mr Karadzic said, adding a former chief prosecutor had said he would get a life sentence, which Mr Karadzic suggested meant that the verdict and sentence was already fixed.
Mr Karadzic, arrested in Belgrade after 11 years on the run, appeared gaunt in the court room, and had sheared the flowing beard and long hair that disguised him while working as an alternative healer.
The case resumes on Aug 29.
*Reuters
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
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FA Cup fifth round
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The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
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MORE ON INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
