U.N. prosecutors file shorter Karadzic indictment

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Prosecutors at the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal in The Hague filed a shortened final indictment against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Monday to simplify the case and speed up the trial. Prosecutors had been ordered to submit a “marked up” or “operative” indictment after the court accepted prosecution proposals to shorten the indictment before the trial, which starts on October 26. Karadzic is still charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including two counts of genocide over the 1992-95 Bosnian war, but the latest indictment reduces the number of crime sites, incidents and municipalities. The final indictment runs to 69 pages, including appendices. Karadzic, who has denied all the charges, tried unsuccessfully to delay the start of the case for 10 months, saying he had had too little time to prepare. The court denied the request last week, ordering instead that the trial start one week after the filing of the prosecutor’s marked up indictment on Monday, October 19. Karadzic’s legal adviser, Peter Robinson, said the former Bosnian Serb leader was “very disappointed” by the decision. “He is concerned about beginning a trial in which one side had 14 years to prepare and he hasn’t even had time to read the materials they have disclosed to him,” Robinson told Reuters. The trial will start with the opening prosecution statement, spread out over two days. Karadzic, who is representing himself, will also be given two days to make an opening statement. The schedule for subsequent hearings is expected to be announced next week. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block, editing by Tim Pearce)