Mladic to ask Serbia to pay his legal bills

Jun 18, 2011, 5:38 GMT

Belgrade - Ratko Mladic will ask Serbia to pay his legal defense bill at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Belgrade daily Blic said Saturday.

'The question of expenses for Mladic's defense and, probably, of his family for their visits to The Hague, we will raise with the government in Belgrade and let them decide whether they will assist its citizens,' lawyer Milos Saljic said.

He said Mladic would also ask the government of the Serb part of Bosnia to contribute to the expenses.

Serbia has a law on cooperation with the tribunal which promises financial assistance to defendants who surrender voluntarily to face charges, which Mladic did not do.

The wartime Bosnian Serb military chief was arrested last month in Serbia after nearly 16 years in hiding and extradited to the court.

He must name his defense soon. According to Saljic, it will consist of three teams, one operating in The Hague, another collecting evidence in Serbia and the third in Bosnia.

Mladic is due to appear in court to enter a plea on July 4.

He has been charged with 11 counts, two of genocide and the rest for crimes against humanity and violations of the rules of war.

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