Lawyer Accused Of Bribing Witnesses At UN War Crimes Tribunal

Milan Lukic

A lawyer who managed the legal defense of a Bosnian Serb convicted of mass murder appeared at the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia today to face charges of bribing witnesses.

Jelena Rasic is accused of paying three men 1,000 euros each for testimony intended to clear Milan Lukic.

Lukic was jailed by the UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal for life in 2009 for the killings of Muslims in Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

Rasic today pleaded not guilty to the charges.

One of the men allegedly paid off by her, Zuhdija Tabakovic, has already been convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to three months in prison.

Rasic faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison if convicted. No date was set for the start of her trial.

compiled from agency reports