Radovan Karadzic seeks dismissal of judge for bias

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday asked the International Criminal Court Mechanism in The Hague to exclude one of his appeals judges for alleged bias.

In 2016 Karadzic was sentenced to 40 years on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Balkans wars.

Peter Robinson, Karadzic's lawyer, pointed to Judge Theodor Meron's rulings on crimes committed in Srebrenica, Sarajevo, and other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina during his trial at Karadzic's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), arguing that the same person should not take part in the appeal process.

"An observer who takes all information into consideration, acting in its logic, can accept that the Judge Meron is biased," said Robinson.

Karadzic filed an appeal in 2016, seeking an acquittal retrial.

On Sept. 5 the MICT replaced three of the five judges -- including Meron -- considering Serbian commander Ratko Mladic's appeal on the grounds of bias.

Last October Mladic got a life sentence for crimes against humanity, including genocide.

He was found to have had "significant responsibility" for the genocide of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.