Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic plans to boycott the UN war crimes court on Monday, when he is scheduled to enter a plea against charges of genocide during the Bosnian war, his lawyer said.
Arrested in May and extradited to
Mladic is accused over a campaign to seize territory for Serbs after
The 69-year-old career soldier is due to enter the plea after refusing to do so last month, but Belgrade-based attorney Milos Saljic said Mladic would boycott the hearing to demand that he be represented by his own defence lawyers.
"Mladic is not going to appear in the courtroom tomorrow unless he is forced to. He does not want to do it because he does not have his team of lawyers yet," Saljic told Reuters.
Mladic's former political chief, Radovan Karadzic, boycotted the start of his trial in 2009 and it is considered unlikely that the tribunal would force Mladic to appear on Monday.
If confronted with an empty dock, or even if Mladic does attend and refuses to enter a plea, judge Alphons Orie is likely to enter a plea of "not guilty" on Mladic's behalf.
Court spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said the court had not been officially notified of Mladic's plans and declined to comment. The tribunal is still verifying the qualifications and eligibility of the list of Mladic's preferred attorneys.
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