By Martin Banks - 4th July 2011
You want to impose my defence, what kind of court are you
Ratko Mladic
The former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic had to be forcibly removed from the United Nations war crimes court at The Hague after refusing to enter a plea.
Amid extraordinary scenes, he was escorted out of the court by security guards after repeatedly disrupting the judge's attempts to read out the charges against him.
The presiding judge Alphons Orie warned Mladic on several occasions not to interrupt him but Mladic defiantly argued he should be allowed to choose his own lawyers.
Mladic had threatened to boycott the hearing, his second court appearance since being tracked down, arrested and extradited from Serbia in May.
When he finally appeared yesterday he spent several minutes demanding different legal representation and requesting a delay before having to plead.
When the judge began reading out the charges, 69-year-old Mladic removed his translation headphones and shouted, "No, no, I'm not going to listen to this without my lawyer.
"You want to impose my defence, what kind of court are you? Who are you? You're not allowing me to breathe."
Mladic was represented by a court-appointed lawyer.
The hearing was adjourned after less than half an hour when Mladic refused to remain quiet.
When it finally resumed, the judge entered formal pleas of not guilty on behalf of Mladic to the various charges against him.
These include genocide and relate to the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and the massacre of 8000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica - Europe's worst massacre since World War Two.
Orie said later that the court would look into allowing him to be represented in future by other lawyers of his choice.
Officials at the court asked for more time last week to vet the list of lawyers Mladic had submitted to verify their qualifications and eligibility.
Mladic wants to be represented by Belgrade-based attorney Milos Saljic and another Russian lawyer.
Should he continue to refuse to enter a plea, judges will enter not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Mladic, who was extradited to The Hague from Serbia on 31 May after being captured following 15 years as a fugitive, faces a maximum life sentence if convicted.
At his first appearance before the hearing in June, he said he had been unable to read the thick file of legal documents he was given.
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