Karadzic Appointed Counsel, Trial Resumes March 2010

Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom in The Hague on November 3.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal is appointing legal counsel to represent Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at his trial, and has adjourned proceedings until March 2010 to give new counsel time to prepare, court judges said.

Karadzic, who has denied his 11 war crimes charges from the 1992-95 Bosnian war, had boycotted proceedings since the trial started last week.

He had argued for more time but judges had said they would appoint legal counsel to represent him if he continued to refuse to attend the trial.

The charges against Karadzic relate to the 1992-95 Bosnian war and include the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.

An estimated 10,000 people died in the siege as the former Yugoslavia was torn apart in the 1990s by Serbs, Croats and Muslims fighting for land.