Ratko Mladic, Former Serb Military Commander, Stands Trial In The Hague Accused Of War Crimes In Bosnia

Ratko Mladic has gone on trial in The Hague accused of carrying out atrocities in Bosnia, twenty years after the 1992-95 war in which more than 100,000 people died.

The 70-year-old former Serb military commander appeared before the United Nations' Yugoslav war crimes tribunal on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide.

Speaking before the trial, the court?s chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz said: "I don't have to tell you how important it is that finally this trial can start 17 years after the first indictment was issued."

After the end of the war, Mladic went into hiding becoming one of the world?s most famous fugitives. He was finally arrested by Serb forces in Belgrade last May after the election of Boris Tadic, who purged the nation's security forces of nationalists.

Similar to Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is currently half way through his own war crimes trial, Mladic is accused of carrying out ethnic cleansing, and overseeing Europe?s worst massacre since the end for the Second World War, including the killing more than 7,000 Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.

Mladic, who has called the charges ?monstrous?, is also accused of a 44-month siege of Sarajevo in which thousands died due to shelling and sniper fire. The General has refused to enter a plea on the charges, so the court has entered a plea of ?not guilty? on his behalf.

The former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, a key player in the Balkan Wars, died in prison in 2006 before a verdict was reached on his own culpability for the genocide. Survivors of the war are concerned a similar fate may befall Mladic, who is in ill health and reportedly suffered a recent stroke.

Mladic remains unrepentant, and entered the courtroom on Wednesday in a grey suit, clapping his hands and waving to the public gallery. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment.

The trial is expected to last more than 200 hours and will hear from around 400 witnesses, many through written testimony.

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At a pre-trial hearing last year, Mladic said: "The whole world knows who I am... I am General Ratko Mladic. I defended my people, my country... now I am defending myself."

Mladic still enjoys support in Serbia, with many seeing him as a hero of Serb nationalism.

Mile Mladic, the uncle of the accused, recently said: "A big fuss is created that he is a war criminal; that he is on trial. He has never been, he will never be a war criminal... I don't allow anyone to say that he is a war criminal. He was a military leader, he led his troops, he was a commander; that suited him, and he was only defending his people."

Ahead of the trial, Bruno Lukic, Mladic's defence lawyer said his client was "feeling better". He added: "For a man in the state he is ? he's a man in generally bad shape ? he's feeling pretty good."

Relatives of the Bosnian war dead took place outside the tribunal

The prosecution is expected to build a case around Mladic?s personal responsibility for Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo. Included in the evidence will be video archives showing the military commander organising troops near to the sites of the massacres, including footage of Mladic telling Muslim young men: "Surrender your weapons and I will guarantee you life. You can survive or you can disappear."

The commander's own war-time diaries are expected to be submitted as evidence.

After the end of the war, a mass grave of 7,000 bodies was found outside Srebrenica.

Opening the proceedings, Dermot Groome, the prosecuting counsel, spoke of a 14-year-old boy who's family members were murdered in 1992. Similar killings were carried out throughout the conflict, said Groome, adding: "By the time Mladic and his troops murdered thousands in Srebrenica... they were well-rehearsed in the craft of murder."

Outside the court, the members of the Mothers of Srebrenica group held a vigil.

PROFILE: Ratko Mladic - From 'Butcher of Bosnia" to withered man.

• Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mla

  Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic (R) arrives on May 16, 2012 at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague before the opening of his war crimes trial. Mladic faces 11 counts including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Bosnian war, in particular the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. AFP PHOTO / POOL / TOUSSAINT KLUITERS - netherlands out - (Photo credit should read TOUSSAINT KLUITERS/AFP/GettyImages)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, center, a UN security guard, right, and member of his defense, left, are seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, center rear, a UN security guard, rear right, and member of his defense, front, are seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic, right, and a UN security guard, left, are seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• Former Bosnian Serb military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is seen at the start of his trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday May 16, 2012. Twenty years after the opening shots of the Bosnian War, Mladic has gone on trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, his appearance at the UN tribunal marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. (AP Photo/Toussaint Kluiters, Pool)

• FILE- In this Dec. 2, 1995, file photo Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladic is seen during a visit of troops in the east Bosnian town of Vlasenica. Twenty years after Serb forces unleashed a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, their military commander Gen. Ratko Mladic is finally going on trial Wednesday may 16, 2012, on charges of masterminding atrocities throughout the country's devastating 1992-95 war. (AP Photo/Oleg Stjepanovic, File)

• A graffiti of war crimes suspect Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic reads 'Hero' in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, March 12, 2012. A Serb far-right group has burned a provincial flag and posted portraits of Mladic to celebrate the 69th birthday of the jailed war crimes suspect. The wartime Bosnian Serb army commander was arrested in May and sent to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

• A woman walks pass a graffiti that reads 'Mladic Hero' in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, March 12, 2012. A Serb far-right group has burned a provincial flag and posted portraits of Mladic to celebrate the 69th birthday of the jailed war crimes suspect. The wartime Bosnian Serb army commander was arrested in May and sent to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

• In this photo taken on Monday, Oct. 10, 2011, people pass by a defaced mural depicting former war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic in Belgrade, Serbia. When Serbia arrested Mladic earlier this year, its rocky road leading to European Union membership appeared finally clear of the key obstacle. But then came riots by Serbs in Kosovo, including clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's demand that Serbia must abandon its claim over the former province before finally becoming a EU candidate. The letters on the mural read "Death" in Serbian. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

• Bosnians demonstrate on 16 May, 2012 out

  Bosnians demonstrate on 16 May, 2012 outside the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, the Netherlands, where the trial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic opened. Mladic faces 11 counts including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the Bosnian war, in particular the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. AFP PHOTO / ANP / TOUSSAINT KLUITERS - netherlands out - (Photo credit should read TOUSSAINT KLUITERS/AFP/GettyImages)

• Serbs Mourn Bosnia War Dead

  BRATUNAC, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - JULY 12: Supporters of the Serbian Radical Party (Srpska Radikalna Stranka) stand by a flag that depicts Ratko Mladic, former Chief of Staff of the Bosnian Serb army and currently on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes, on the edge of a commemoration ceremony for Bosnian Serb soldiers and civilians killed in the Bosnian War of 1992-1995 at the Serbian cemetery on July 12, 2011 in Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many Serbs in the region around Bratunac joined the Bosnian Serb army, which was responsible for the ethnic cleansing, murder and mass rape of local Bosnian Muslim civilians, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

• Serbs Mourn Bosnia War Dead

  BRATUNAC, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - JULY 12: A supporter of the Serbian Radical Party (Srpska Radikalna Stranka) waves a flag that depicts Ratko Mladic, former Chief of Staff of the Bosnian Serb army and currently on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes, on the edge of a commemoration ceremony for Bosnian Serb soldiers and civilians killed in the Bosnian War of 1992-1995 at the Serbian cemetery on July 12, 2011 in Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many Serbs in the region around Bratunac joined the Bosnian Serb army, which was responsible for the ethnic cleansing, murder and mass rape of local Bosnian Muslim civilians, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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