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Karadzic to Defend Himself in Genocide Trial

Bosnian war crimes suspect also wants a shave and a trim

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 23, 2008 9:24 AM CDT

(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.

Serb man looks at newspaper headlines in Pale, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, with headlines reading KARADZIC IS ARRESTED. Pale was a war time stronghold for Karadzic.
Serb man looks at newspaper headlines in Pale, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, with headlines reading KARADZIC IS ARRESTED. Pale was a war time stronghold for Karadzic.   (AP Photo/Hidajet Delic)
Newspapers are stacked outside a shop  in an empty street in the Bosnian town of Pale, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.
Newspapers are stacked outside a shop in an empty street in the Bosnian town of Pale, on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.   (AP Photo/Hidajet Delic)
This video frame grab image taken from Kikinda Television shows former Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic attending a conference under the false identity of Dragan Dabic on January 28, 2008.
This video frame grab image taken from Kikinda Television shows former Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic attending a conference under the false identity of Dragan Dabic on January 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Kikinda Television via APTN)
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