The long and complicated genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic is nearing its crest this week, more than 20 years after the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Closing arguments in the Mladic trial began on December 5 at The Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The 74-year-old Mladic has denied all 11 charges against him, including two charges of genocide as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors at the United Nations court will have three days to present their closing arguments and convince judges that Mladic "significantly contributed to an overarching joint criminal enterprise" from October 1991 until November 1995.
The prosecution alleges that the aim was "the permanent removal of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian Serb-claimed territory" in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mladic is accused of being the architect of the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, where an estimated 10,000 people were killed by shelling and snipers.
Mladic is accused of playing a key role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre where some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces.
Mladic’s defense attorneys are due to begin their closing arguments on December 9.
