Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic failed to attend the opening of his long-awaited war crimes trial at The Hague Monday, forcing the judge to adjourn proceedings until Tuesday. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic failed to attend the opening of his long-awaited war crimes trial at The Hague Monday, setting up a test of wills between the accused and the judges, who must now decide how to proceed. Opening the proceedings at The Hague shortly after 9:00 am (0800 GMT) Monday, the presiding judge, O-Gon Kwon, noted that "the accused Mr Karadzic is not present," before launching an early warning at Karadzic. "We request Mr Karadzic to attend so that his trial is not further obstructed," said Kwon. Barely 15 minutes after the opening, the judge adjourned the trial until Tuesday, when the prosecution is to make its opening address. But after meeting with his client on Monday, a member of Karadzic's legal team, Marco Sladojevic, told AFP that Karadzic would not be present for Tuesday’s proceedings. "I don't think he can read a million pages in one night," the lawyer said, echoing Karadzic's argument that he needed more time to study a million pages of prosecution evidence and hundreds of witness statements.
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