A defiant Ratko Mladic plunged his Yugoslav war crimes tribunal into chaos yesterday with the judge throwing him out of court for refusing to behave.
The former Bosnian Serb military leader repeatedly shouted at the bench, defying their orders and refusing to enter pleas to 11 charges before the presiding judge banned him.
After a brief adjournment to have Mr Mladic removed, Judge Alphons Orie then resumed the hearing and formally entered not guilty pleas on Mr Mladic’s behalf, in line with court rules for suspects who refuse to plead.
Shortly before guards escorted Mr Mladic from court, he shouted at Judge Orie, “You want to impose my defence, what kind of a court are you?”
Mr Mladic, 69, is accused of masterminding the worst Serb atrocities of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. He is accused of genocide as the top military official overseeing the 1995 killing some 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica, in Europe’s worst mass killing since the Second World War.
Mr Mladic was disruptive and argumentative from the outset at only his second appearance before the UN court since being extradited by Serbia just over a month ago.
He put on a cap and gestured to members of the public in open defiance of orders from Judge Orie. Speaking out of turn, he told the judge he wanted to wear the cap because his head was cold.
Mr Mladic had threatened to boycott the hearing because court officials have not yet appointed the Serbian and Russian lawyers he wants to represent him at his trial.
Judge Orie told Mr Mladic it was up to the court’s registry, not judges, to approve the lawyers. When he asked Mr Mladic whether he was ready to hear the charges, Mr Mladic responded “You can do whatever you want.”
But when the judge began speaking, Mr Mladic said “No, no, no! Don’t read it to me, not another word,” and pulled off his earphones. After Judge Orie warned him to be quiet or he would be removed, Mr Mladic shot back: “Remove me.”
Victims were not surprised by Mr Mladic’s behaviour in court.
“He showed who he is and what he is like. He displayed no regret and doesn’t want justice for the victims,” said Hatidia Mehmedovic, a survivor of the Srebrenica massacre who travelled to the Netherlands to watch yesterday’s hearing.
After entering the pleas, Judge Orie adjourned the hearing without setting a date for trial or scheduling another hearing. It is likely Mr Mladic’s lawyers will be approved by the registry after filing proper papers, and then judges can set a date for the next pre-trial hearing.