Bosnia: Mladic opens defense at genocide trial
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 19 May 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Bosnia: Mladic opens defense at genocide trial, 19 May 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53a13a271c.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
May 19, 2014
The defense team for Ratko Mladic is set to begin their defense.
Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic launched the defense case in his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on May 19.
The defense opened with the written testimony of a former Serb Army officer.
Mladic lawyer Miodrag Stojanovic told judges in a summary of Mile Sladoje's seven-page written testimony, "All military activities were defense activities."
Stojanovic said Sladoje "never received an order from his superior command, nor did he issue an order ... to attack civilian facilities" in the besieged Bosnian capital of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 war.
Mladic faces 11 charges, including genocide and crimes against humanity.
Mladic denies all charges, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.
Mladic was arrested in May 2011 and transferred to the tribunal in The Hague.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
