War-crimes trial

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The trial of Radovan Karadzic, a former leader of Republika Srpska charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, opened Monday.

Karadzic, however, didn't show at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia hearing in The Netherlands. Karadzic has been in ICTY custody for 15 months after 13 years as a fugitive.

A legal adviser for Karadzic told the BBC Karadzic is demanding another nine months to prepare his defense. Monday's 30-minute start of the trial came after two previous postponements. The trial is expected to last for months.

Karadzic is charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity stemming from the 1992-95 war in Bosnia. He was allegedly involved with a years-long attack on Sarajevo that killed about 12,000 civilians and is accused of being responsible for a massacre in which 7,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in Srebrenica.

The former Bosnian Serb leader denies the allegations.