ICTY not to sever Mladic trial

The trial of former Bosnian Serb Army Commander Ratko Mladic will not be split into two parts, the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) confirmed on Thursday. The trial chamber turned down the prosecution's request to sever the indictment, but granted its motion to add to the charges the crimes committed in the village of Bisina in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. On Aug. 17, the prosecution of the ICTY requested to sever the Mladic indictment and to conduct two separate trials instead of one trial. The first case would deal with the indictment of the genocide in Srebrenica where Mladic was accused of "killing 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys," while the second trial would focus on the charges of crimes against humanity, referring to the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. The prosecution had filed the motion to speed up the trial, because they want to avoid the same scenario as was the case with former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his cell at the UN detention unit in 2006 before the final judgment. Mladic's lawyer Branko Lukic objected the motion, saying it was unfair, while the chamber found that granting the prosecution's motion could "prejudice the accused, render the trial less manageable and less efficient, and risk unduly burdening witnesses." According to the chamber reports on the deteriorating health situation of Mladic were "speculative and unsubstantiated" and that "it could not base its findings on media reports or other such sources." Mladic is constantly complaining about is health and has currently been receiving medical treatment. Captured on May 26 in Serbia, he was moved to the UN Detention Unit in The Hague on May 31. The former commander will be back in court on November 10 for his next status conference.