United Nations: Former Bosnian Serb Army
chief Ratko Mladic has refused to enter a guilt plea tribunal
for Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, describing the war crime
charges against him as "obnoxious".
69-year-old Mladic also told the court he was "gravely
ill."
Mladic faces 11 charges of genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes. He is accused of masterminding the
Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
According to the indictment, Mladic committed these
and other crimes as part of a joint criminal enterprise whose
objective was to eliminate or permanently remove Bosnian
Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb inhabitants from
large areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mladic told the court he need more time to consider
the "obnoxious" charges, according to the UN News Service.
Mladic said he was "a gravely ill man" and needed more
time to study the "monstrous words" in the indictment before
entering a plea.
He was transferred to the Tribunal's custody on
Tuesday. The court set July 4 as the date for the next
appearance.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, June 04, 2011, 14:41