Call to speed up Karadzic trial

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Judges in The Hague have asked prosecutors to find ways to speed up the forthcoming genocide trial of ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

They want the prosecution to reduce the charge sheet against the 64-year-old.

If the prosecution fails to do so, the war crimes court could do the job for them, an order from the judges says.

Mr Karadzic faces 11 charges. The prosecution currently intends to call some 500 witnesses, and estimates it will need 490 hours to examine them.

Mr Karadzic was arrested and brought to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) last year, after more than a decade in hiding.

Not guilty plea

The latest order, signed by Presiding Judge Iain Bonomy, asks prosecutors to propose ways "in which the scope of the trial may be reduced".

"Should the prosecution not provide assistance in identifying specific counts and/or crime sites or incidents... the Chamber may fix the crimes sites and/or incidents itself," it says.

THE INDICTMENT Eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocitiesCharged over shelling Sarajevo during the city's siege, in which some 12,000 civilians diedAllegedly organised the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniak men and youths in SrebrenicaTargeted Bosniak and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionalsUnlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identityDestroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites

Crime sites, in this case, are the individual incidents that help to make up one or more of the 11 charges against Mr Karadzic.

The judges noted that the charges cover crimes that are alleged to have occurred in 27 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Srebrenica and Sarajevo.

Mr Karadzic is accused of genocide over the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) at Srebrenica in 1995, and is also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court filed a not guilty plea on his behalf after he refused to offer a plea, saying the court lacked jurisdiction.

The ICTY was originally due to have finished all trials by 2008 and appeals by 2010.

The court now estimates that the Karadzic trial may not conclude until early 2012, with some appeals running into 2013.