Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic mocks survivors as his trial for war crimes begins

 
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Kiran Randhawa16 May 2012

The man accused of the biggest act of genocide in Europe since the Nazi Holocaust today taunted survivors at the start of his trial with throat-cutting gestures.

Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the 1992-95 Bosnian war which left 100,000 dead.

Dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia”, he is accused of orchestrating the massacre of more than 8,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica and is also charged in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, during which more than 10,000 people died.

Wearing a suit and tie, the frail 70-year-old gave a thumbs-up and clapped supporters as he entered the courtroom in The Hague. Minutes later he made the throat-cutting gestures to Munira Subasic, who lost 22 relatives at Srebrenica, who had shaken her finger at him from the public gallery.

Prosecutor Dermot Groome told the international criminal court’s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal: “Ratko Mladic assumed the mantle of the criminal goal of ethnically cleansing Bosnia.

“The prosecution will present evidence that will show without reasonable doubt the hand of Mr Mladic in each of these crimes.”

Mr Groome began his opening statement by focusing on a 14-year-old boy whose father and uncle were among 150 men murdered by Bosnian Serb forces in November 1992.

“The world watched in disbelief that in neighbourhoods and villages within Europe a genocide appeared to be in progress,” he said. “By the time Mladic and his troops murdered thousands in Srebrenica ... they were well-rehearsed in the craft of murder.”

Mladic showed no emotion as prosecutors began outlining his alleged crimes. He has refused to enter pleas but denies wrongdoing, saying he acted to defend Serbs in Bosnia. If he is convicted, he faces life imprisonment.

Mr Groome added that “crimes of sexual violence were an integral part of taking over territory and ethnic cleansing”. He said both men and women were raped and forced “to carry out sex acts on others including relatives”. He read out a witness statement that said: “The world should seek to look in our eyes. They had killed my mother, they had killed my brother. I had been raped by 50 of them.”

Mladic went on the run after the war and was one of the world’s most-wanted men. He was arrested by Serbian forces near Belgrade last year and flown to The Hague. He has been waiting for his trial in the same jail as his former political leader, Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in 2008 and is on trial on almost identical charges to Mladic.

Presiding Judge Alphons Orie said the court was considering postponing the presentation of evidence because of “errors” by prosecutors in disclosing evidence to the defence.

The trial continues.

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