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As trial ends, prosecutors slam Karadzic as liar

THE HAGUE — Prosecutors called former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic a liar in closing remarks at his genocide trial Monday, saying he lacks any credibility in denying responsibility for the atrocities committed on a massive scale while he was in charge.

Prosecutor Alan Tieger said Karadzic, 69, should be convicted and imprisoned for life, the heaviest punishment possible at the UN Yugoslav Tribunal.

Karadzic was president of the breakaway Bosnian Serb Republic during the 1992 to 1995 Bosnian War that left 100,000 dead. His responsibilities included ultimate oversight of the army commanded by General Ratko Mladic, who is also on trial for genocide.

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Karadzic says he is innocent of any wrongdoing and was unaware of the slaughter of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces at Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995 — the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

Leading his own defense, he is expected to deliver his closing remarks Wednesday. A verdict is expected sometime in mid-2015.

Tieger said Karadzic publicly ‘‘bragged at the time about the painstaking steps he was taking’’ to violently remove non-Serbs from parts of Bosnia to create an ‘‘ethnically pure’’ Serb ministate. Karadzic now denies that, Tieger said, promoting a ‘‘revisionist history’’ and ‘‘blaming those who did his dirty work.’’

Karadzic is charged with genocide for Srebrenica and for the ethnic cleansing of many towns at the start of the war in 1992. He also is charged with murder and persecution for the shelling and sniper campaign that terrorized Sarajevo during a lengthy siege.

Associated Press