Last trial under way at Yugoslav war crimes court

[October 17, 2012]  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Twenty years after war in Croatia catapulted Goran Hadzic from warehouse worker to rebel Serb president, he is in the dock in the final trial at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Hadzic's trial, in its second day Wednesday, underscores that international courts, often maligned for their failure to get suspects into custody, can bring to justice once-untouchable leaders accused of atrocities.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was the first war crimes court set up since the aftermath of World War II and helped lay the legal foundations for the permanent International Criminal Court.

While the ICC has only a handful of suspects in custody a decade after its establishment, Hadzic is defendant number 161 -- out of 161 indicted -- to go on trial at the Yugoslav tribunal.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.