Karadzic refuses to enter war crimes pleas at UN tribunal

Radovan Karadzic refused to enter pleas before a UN court preparing to try him on genocide charges and branded the tribunal a NATO proxy out to 'liquidate' him.

The former Bosnian Serb leader attempted sarcastic repartee with the judge at his war crimes hearing in The Hague.

Karadzic, accused of perpetrating the worst genocide in Europe since the Second World War, refused to enter pleas to 11 charges against him, including genocide and crimes against humanity.

Scottish judge Iain Bonomy, presiding over the hearing by the UN Yugoslav tribunal, entered not guilty pleas on Karadzic's behalf.

'I will not plead, in line with my standpoint as regards to this court,' Karadzic said when asked for his plea to a count of genocide.

'This court is representing itself falsely as a court of the international community, whereas it is in fact a court of NATO to whose aim is to liquidate me,' he said.

Judge Bonomy set September 17 as the next date for a hearing, when Karadzic says he will challenge the court's jurisdiction. No trial date has been fixed.

The 63-year-old was in court for his second public appearance since his arrest late last month, which ended 13 years on the run.

The 25-minute hearing was a crucial step towards his trial for allegedly masterminding the genocide by Serb forces in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, which claimed an estimated 100,000 lives.

Karadzic, looking less tired than at his first appearance shortly after his arrest, was combative in court, but his sarcasm failed to amuse the judge.

When Bonomy told the former leader he was entering 'not guilty' pleas, Karadzic said: 'May I hold you to your word - that I am not guilty?'