http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/5895132/
Radovan-Karadzic-challenges-Srebrenica-toll.html
Radovan Karadzic challenges Srebrenica toll
The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic said he wants to use
DNA tests to establish that the death toll from the Srebrenica
massacre has been exaggerated.
By Our Foreign Staff and Agencies in The Hague
Published: 5:18PM BST 23 Jul 2009
Radovan Karadzic: the former Bosnian Serb leader has claimed the toll
at the Srebrenica massacre, where 8,000 were killed, has been
exaggerated. Photo: AP
At a pre-trial hearing in The Hague, Karadzic asked for access to DNA
evidence, claiming that the actual toll of Muslim men and boys
slaughtered by his forces at Srebrenica is "thousands" below the
widely accepted figure of about 8,000.
"Everything in relation to Srebrenica that has been presented so far
is erroneous," he claimed. "We do not have a clear picture."
He said hat uncertainty surrounds "thousands of victims" and that
people whose names appear on gravestones are alive.
Many of those listed as dead at Srebrenica had in fact died elsewhere
during the Bosnian war, or now are living outside the country, he
claimed.
"We are convinced that there is a manifold exaggeration here," he
added, demanding that experts working on his defence case be granted
access to DNA evidence compiled by prosecutors to verify the
"methodology" used.
Karadzic, 63, was arrested in Belgrade last year after living in
disguise as an alternative medicine practicioner.
His claim, which is likely to cause distress to the families of the
victims, was made ahead of his trial at the United Nations'
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in Holland.
He will stand trial on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
Prosecutors have charged Karadzic with genocide for allegedly
masterminding the mass slayings at what was supposed to be a UN safe
haven at Srebrenica. It is considered Europe's worst atrocity since
the Second World War.
No date has been set for Karadzic's full trial to begin.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
