Karadzic trial resumes in his absence

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The war crimes trial against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic resumed in his absence on Tuesday in The Hague.

Karadzic, who is charged with 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, Tuesday continued to boycott the proceedings after he failed to show up on the first day of the trial. As a result, Monday's hearing at the International Criminal Tribunal was adjourned after only 30 minutes.

The boycott is similar to that of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader who tried to evade court hearings for four years until he died of a heart attack before a formal verdict was rendered.

Karadzic denies all charges and claims he needs time to prepare his defense.

But the court in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday ruled the trial could continue in the absence of the 64-year-old, who was arrested in 2008 after hiding in Belgrade for 13 years.

Karadzic is one of the key figures in the 1992-1995 war in Yugoslavia that left more than 100,000 people dead.

The prosecution says the former leader of the Republica Srpska and commander of the Bosnian Serb Army is responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians.

Under his reign the Bosnian Serb Army shelled Sarajevo during the city's siege that left around 12,000 dead.

He allegedly organized the targeted killings at Srebrenica. In this small mountain town in the eastern part of what today is Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian forces in July 1995 murdered more than 8,000 teenagers and men. The event is still considered the worst massacre in post-World War II European history.

Karadzic, who wants to defend himself, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

For the relatives of those killed, however, justice will never be reached, says British Col. Bob Stewart, a former U.N. commander in Bosnia.

Stewart led his forces to Srebrenica in 1993, two years before the massacre. At the time, the region already was the target of significant attacks from Serbian forces.

"I remember pleading with the United Nations for us to stay there and do something about it," Stewart told the BBC. "We couldn't. We let those people down. And those people actually will never ever -- ever ever -- feel that they've had justice."

At least not until another criminal, former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, is also in the hands of authorities. Mladic is still at large, believed to be hiding in Serbia.