Former Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic today faces a sentencing hearing for war crimes at the UN tribunal in The Hague.
Once called "the iron lady of the Balkans", Ms Plavsic (72) is the highest-ranking Bosnian Serb to be tried for war crimes.
Ms Plavsic was a wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs and a close associate of Radovan Karadzic, the fugitive most wanted by the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She is the only woman among more than 100 men indicted.
She was indicted for her role in planning the purge of Muslims and other non-Serbs from Serb-dominated areas of Bosnia early in the war.
After initially pleading not guilty to all charges, Ms Plavsic in October pleaded guilty to one count of persecution, a crime against humanity.
Prosecutors dropped seven other charges, including genocide. She is free pending sentencing and the three-judge tribunal is expected to rule by next year.
The hearing for the former genetics professor is to last three days, raising speculation that Western leaders and academics may plead on her behalf in recognition of her role in ending the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
AP