http://www.budapesttimes.hu/content/view/12750/220/
BUDAPEST TIMES (HUNGARY)
Karadzic: not all in mass graves from massacre
Written by Dan Nolan
Tuesday, 04 August 2009
Radovan Karadzic claimed last Thursday that forensic tests can prove
that the death toll of the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 was exaggerated. The
former Bosnian Serb leader, who will face a number of charges including
three for war crimes and five for crimes against humanity, allegedly
masterminded the mass slaughter of over 8,000 Muslim adult males in Europe’s
biggest atrocity since the Second World War.
Cause of death
So far more than 6,000 bodies have been excavated from various burial
sites in the area. Karadzic claims, however, that DNA data from the mass
graves will bear out his claim that many of the deaths occurred beforehand.
He told a pre-trial hearing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that “we have to establish the truth about when
someone died, whether in 1992, 1993 or 1995; whether they were killed in
combat or executions.”
Judge questions point
Karadzic did not reply to judge Iain Bonomy’s question of how the
tests would help in his defense, nor his warning that the request could
delay the trial, for which a starting date has not yet been set.
The remains of the 534 Srebrenica victims most recently disinterred
from mass graves were laid to rest last month at a ceremony marking the 14th
anniversary of the massacre at the Srebrenica-Potocari memorial centre.
Prosecutors had made no official response to his statement as of last
Friday.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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