Karadzic appeal begins, prosecutors seek life imprisonment

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has officially started appealing the decision condemning him to 40 years in prison for genocide and war crimes. The case will be considered at the United Nations Tribunal in The Hague, Holland, and the appeal will last two days.

The international Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) sentenced Karadzic in March 2016. The former leader described his sentence as politically motivated “”. His lawyers said he did not have a fair trial process, while prosecutors demand an increase in sentence, in life imprisonment.

Former Bosnian Serb Army Commander Ratko Mladic was sentenced to life in prison for the same charges in November 2017.

The mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) is what is already considering the appeal, while “ICTY” was disbanded in 2017.

Karadzic, an ex-psychiater, was president of the Bosnian-Serbian entity Republika Srpska during the Bosnian war in the '90s. He was convicted of 10 of 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and other massacres during the conflict, including planning the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995.

Bosnian Serb soldiers massacred nearly 8,000 Muslims, men and boys, to a secure “area” protected by Dutch peacekeeping forces under the UN mission, broadcast tch.

Karadzic also became responsible for the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted more than 3 years, caused the deaths of 10,000 civilians. However, he was acquitted of a genocide charge involving the massacre of persons in 7 other Bosnian cities.

Prosecutors believe “judges ICTY” was wrong on laws and facts, while chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz has asked “to co-ordinate the errors of the trial chamber” and sentence Karadzic to life in prison.

Karadzic went into hiding for years before his arrest in Serbia in 2008. He was hiding under the false identity of Dr Dragan David Dabic, an alternative medicine expert.