How Did Serbia's Dictator Escape?

Remember former Serb strongman Radovan Karadžic?  First president of the so-called Republic of Serbia [Republika Srpska], Karadžic was finally captured last year and now awaits trial before The Hague Tribunal.  But he's refusing to come out of his cell for his trial.  What do you think authorities should do?

Those running the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, Netherlands say they're determined to proceed with or without the accused.

But what impact do you think that could have upon the meaning of the proceedings?

The tribunal was established in 1993, and has more than a thousand staff members.

During its existence, the tribunal so far counts the following among its accomplishments, according to a tally by Wikipedia:

  "Spearheading the shift from impunity to accountability", pointing out that, until very recently, it was the only court judging crimes committed as part of the Yugoslav conflict, since prosecutors in the former Yugoslavia were, as a rule, reluctant to prosecute such crimes;

  "Establishing the facts", highlighting the extensive evidence-gathering and lengthy findings of fact that Tribunal judgments produced;

  "Bringing justice to thousands of victims and giving them a voice", pointing out the large number of witnesses that had been brought before the Tribunal;

  "The accomplishments in international law", describing the fleshing out of several international criminal law concepts which had not been ruled on since the Nuremberg Trials;

  "Strengthening the Rule of Law", referring to the Tribunal's role in promoting the use of international standards in war crimes prosecutions by former Yugoslav republics.

There are even cells for the accused and for prisoners:

             
A typical 15 m² single cell at the ICTY detention facilities.
Photograph provided courtesy of the ICTY.

What do you think?

[Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of CompuServe, Netscape, any government, agency, or news organization.]

Try him in his absence

Why not just drag him into court and force him to see and hear the horrific evidence against him?

>>>I wouldn't even give him the time of day<<<

Maybe you wouldn't, but I'd give him all the time of every day...in prison.
This week a sort of public defender was assigned to him...and the trial has been postponed until March 2010 to give the new lawyer time to prepare. The ICTY uses the UN detention unit at Scheveningen (the ocean side of The Hague). As prisons go, it's pretty cushy. But it's still prison. Perhaps Karadzic will do us the favour that Milosevic did and die in prison. But I know there are many victims who need to be heard, need him to hear of their horrors. He needs to see footage of the mass graves, listen to the reports of those who survived.
So I'd give him plenty of time....years and years of time....all the time in the world!

kate