12:40 AM
Ratko Mladic has been highly critical of The Hague proceedings against him
The
defence in the trial of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic on
charges of genocide and crimes against humanity is due to begin on
Monday.
The 72-year-old is one of the most high-profile suspects to
appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY).Mr Mladic denies 11 charges dating to the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
He is specifically accused of a role in the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys at Srebrenica.
The massacre was Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic in Pale in 1993. Both men are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity
The Srebrenica massacre was the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of WW2
Mr Mladic has denounced the UN tribunal as "satanic".The defence argues that Gen Mladic was simply a soldier following orders.
His lawyers have described him as a self-proclaimed patriot who fought to defend his people.
The defence will also attempt to refute the prosecution's claim that the general led a targeted campaign to ethnically cleanse parts of Bosnia of non-Serbs and make them part of a greater Serbia.
But they are expected to point out that Mr Mladic suffers from a memory disorder that makes it hard for him to differentiate between truth and fiction.
The BBC's Anna Holligan in The Hague says that although he denies the charges, many survivors consider Ratko Mladic to be one of those most responsible their suffering.
Our correspondent says that for them, the trial is a chance to hear the truth and experience some form of justice.
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