Karadzic trial: key events

Radovan Karadzic is on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Here is a breakdown of key events at the trial so far:

COURT IMPOSES LAWYER

5 November 2009:

The tribunal appoints a lawyer to represent the former Bosnian Serb leader and adjourns the trial until 1 March to give his counsel more time to prepare.

A court statement says that after insisting on many more months to prepare his defence, his "conduct has effectively brought the trial to a halt, which is evidently his purpose".

He is given seven days to apply for permission to appeal against the decision.

KARADZIC APPEARS IN COURT

3 November 2009: Radovan Karadzic appears at his war crimes trial for the first time since it opened.

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Radovan Karadzic said his fundamental rights had been violated

He tells the procedural hearing - called to determine how to proceed in the event that the defendant continues to refuse to appear - that he has been "snowed under" by the amount of documentation.

He says that for the trial to be fair he needs enough time to go through the 1.3 million pages of prosecution documents, asking for a further 10 months to prepare himself.

He tells the court he intends to continue his boycott unless he is given more time.

Karadzic defiant at court hearing

KARADZIC WRITES TO COURT

2 November 2009:

Mr Karadzic sends a letter to presiding Judge O-Gon Kwon announcing that he will attend the tribunal the next day for a procedural hearing to discuss his defence.

His letter calls for a "fair and expeditious" trial and states that he is looking forward to making his own opening statement "as soon as I am in a position to do so".

Karadzic 'will appear at trial'

PROSECUTION OUTLINES CASE

Judge O-Gon Kwon: "I note that the accused Mr Karadzic is once again not present"

27 October 2009: Even though Mr Karadzic continues to boycott his trial, the judges rule that proceedings will continue without him.

Judge Kwon says the defendant had chosen not to exercise his right to be present and "must therefore accept the consequences", adding that the court would consider imposing a lawyer to represent Mr Karadzic if he continues to boycott proceedings.

Outlining its case, the prosecution brands Mr Karadzic the "undisputed leader" of Serbs responsible for carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign during the 1992-1995 conflict, in which he had "harnessed the forces of nationalism, hatred and fear" to pursue his vision of a state without Muslims.

Mr Karadzic had "ethnically cleansed vast portions of Bosnia and Hercegovina" during the war, says Alain Tieger for the prosecution.

He quotes Mr Karadzic as saying before the war that Serb forces would turn the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, into "a black cauldron, where 300,000 Muslims will die".

Karadzic 'led ethnic cleansing'

TRIAL OPENS

26 October 2009: The trial opens but Judge O-Gon Kwon adjourns it almost immediately as Mr Karadzic, who is representing himself, refuses to appear.

Judge O-Gon Kwon: "I note that the accused Mr Karadzic is not present"

He says he still needs at least nine months to prepare his defence due to the scope of the case - which is thought to involve 1.2 million pages of evidence, numerous crime scenes and hundreds of witnesses.

Although Mr Karadzic had refused to enter pleas, he had previously said he would co-operate with the court to prove his innocence.

His legal counsel in Belgrade says Mr Karadzic will not attend the second day's proceedings unless the lengthy delay is granted, adding that he would also reject any counsel imposed by the court.

Karadzic boycotts start of trial