Prosecutors want Mladic tried first on genocide

Prosecutors presented a plan Wednesday to the UN war crimes tribunal to hasten the trial of Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic, fearing his health is too fragile for a lengthy all-encompassing case that could drag on for years.

Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz sought permission to try 69-year-old Mladic first for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, for which he is accused of genocide in the killing of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.

Mladic would then later stand trial on charges linked to the 44-month siege of Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, for a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, and for holding UN peacekeepers hostage.

He was arrested in Serbia in May after 16 years as a fugitive and extradited to the court based in The Hague.

Although his Serbian lawyer has described him as ailing and in poor mental health, Mladic has appeared mostly alert and feisty during his two arraignment appearances, arguing with the judge and trading ugly gestures with victims watching from the gallery behind bulletproof glass.

But in the court application, Brammertz said he wanted to take the case to trial quickly, partly because of "the need to plan for the contingency that Mladic's health could deteriorate."

Although the case would be split into separate trials, the prosecutors said they considered both to be equally important, and only were looking for a practical approach that could deliver a verdict quickly and "maximize the prospect of justice for the victims."

They said they would take roughly one year to present their evidence in the Srebrenica case alone. The defence would presumably have equal time. The prosecutors argued that the second trial could then begin while an appellate court considers the outcome of the Srebrenica trial -- appeals are almost inevitable at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Mladic refused to plead at his arraignment. A not-guilty plea was entered by the court on his behalf.