Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, extradited to the Netherlands from Serbia after 16 years on the run, will be formally charged with genocide at the UN war crimes tribunal on Friday.
Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia scheduled Mladic's initial court appearance for 8am on Friday, when he will be charged and asked to enter a plea, according to a statement on the court's website.
Serge Brammertz, prosecutor for the tribunal, said in an interview with Austrian radio ORF today that everything possible would be done to avoid a lengthy trial. Several war crimes trials in The Hague have dragged on for years.
Asked how long the whole process could take, he said that depended on several things, including Mladic's health and whether he appointed a legal team or handled his own defence.
"It is very difficult to say how long it will last. The problem will not be the prosecution, we have our updated charge sheet ready, it will be a question of how long the defence needs to prepare their case."
Mr Brammertz welcomed Serbia's decision to extradite Mladic, even though he said it took a "very long time."
"We would be very interested to know where he was between 2006 and 2011...we are waiting for the relevant reports so that we know who sheltered him, when and where," the prosecutor said.
Serbia must still do more, Mr Brammertz said, urging the authorities to track down Goran Hadzic, an ethnic Serb also wanted by the UN tribunal.
Ratko Mladic was flown from Serbia to the Netherlands last night in a government jet. He was transferred by helicopter from Rotterdam to the United Nations tribunal’s detention centre near The Hague.
He is expected to undergo medical tests today ahead of his trial.
War crimes tribunal spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said staff had handed Mladic his indictment yesterday and explained the rules and procedures to him. She said he stayed in isolation last night which was standard for new arrivals at the prison.
Mladic also was being given a list of defense lawyers who could help him through the initial proceedings of the war crimes court.
Mladic (69) was arrested at his cousin’s house in a Serb village last Thursday after evading capture for 16 years.
He lived in Belgrade and in military bases under the protection of loyalists until about 2005, but international pressure on Serbia and its pro-western leaders’ determination to move towards European Union membership forced him further underground in recent years.
Reuters