The Hague - The war crimes tribunal in The Hague said Thursday it has appointed an attorney for Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, and adjourned the trial until March 1. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said it took the decision because Karadzic "substantially and persistently obstructed the proper and expeditious conduct of his trial by refusing to attend the proceedings until such time as he considers himself to be ready."
Karadzic's decision to boycott the hearings, presiding judge O-Gon Kwon wrote, was a "blatant example of deliberately obstructive conduct, no matter how co-operative the accused has been up until the commencement of the trial."
Karadzic, 64, faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including two counts of genocide for acts allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
The former psychiatrist, who is representing himself at the UN- sponsored tribunal, claims he was not given enough time to prepare himself.
His repeated requests for a postponement were denied, but as Karadzic continued his boycott, it left the tribunal the choice of either compelling him to be present, continuing in his absence, or appointing a counsel.
Declining to comment on the first option, Kwon wrote the chamber had decided not to continue in Karadzic's absence, because it "it is in the interests of justice to assign counsel to the accused so that he is represented should he continue to absent himself from the trial."
He added that while the "rights of the accused to be physically present during his trial and to represent himself ... are fundamental ... neither of these rights are absolute."
Kwon continued to say that "under certain circumstances" the tribunal was also authorized to restrict the right of self- representation of a defendant.
In order to give the new counsel time to study the case, the tribunal adjourned the trial until March 1 and said it "encouraged" Karadzic to "cooperate fully with the appointed counsel."
In the meantime, the ICTY said, the former Bosnian Serb leader would continue to represent himself.
Kwon also warned Karadzic that should he continue to absent himself from the proceedings in March or portray "any other conduct that obstructs the proper and expeditious conduct of the trial, he will forfeit his right to self-representation."
In that case, Karadzic would no longer be entitled to assistance from his assigned defence team and the appointed counsel would take over as assigned counsel to represent him, the chamber wrote.
In a first reaction, Marko Sladojevic, one of Karadzic's three current legal counsels, said appointing a new legal counsel would not solve anything.
"He still needs more time to prepare himself. Three months is not enough," Sladojevic said.
However, Sladojevic also noted the former Bosnian Serb leader would be prepared to "work constructively, so we will discuss this and probably file a motion next week."
Radovan Karadzic is alleged to have orchestrated, among others, the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, when Bosnian Serb forces brutally killed some 8,000 men after taking over the Muslim enclave declared an United Nations safe area.
He was first indicted in 1995 but remained at large until Serbian authorities arrested him in July 2008, transferring him to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
His trial formally opened on October 26, but Karadzic refused to attend the proceedings, claiming he was not given sufficient time to prepare himself.
On Tuesday he appeared for the first time when the court held a "status conference" to discuss how to proceed.
