0
Karadzic to Defend Himself in Genocide Trial
Bosnian war crimes suspect also wants a shave and a trim
By Kevin Spak
|
Posted Jul 23, 08 9:24 AM CDT
|
Share
(Newser)
–
Bosnian genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic plans to defend himself when he stands trial in the Hague, his lawyer said today. He also plans to lose the Santa Claus beard and pony tail, having requested a shave and haircut, the BBC reports. Karadzic, a former psychiatrist who spent more than a decade on the lam, was posing as a doctor of alternative medicine in Belgrade when he was arrested Monday.
Karadzic's alter ego, Dragan Dabic, had his own website and gave lectures, billed as Dabic, Spiritual Explorer, on “human quantum energy” and monk meditation practices. He also wrote for the magazine Healthy Life, reports the New York Times. “He was really friendly and really open and had a way of speaking with people,” reports a woman who had coffee with him a number of times in a Belgrade cafe. In deciding to defend himself, Karadzic, who masterminded the 3-year siege of Sarajevo and is held responsible for the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, follows former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.