Radovan Karadzic launches appeal against convictions

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is arguing in a U.N. appeals court that his convictions and 40-year sentence for masterminding Serb atrocities throughout the Bosnian war should be overturned because of a string of legal errors, and that he should be given a new trial.

Karadzic was convicted in March 2016 of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in crimes including the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys, Europe's worst massacre since World War II. He insists he is innocent.

Monday was the first of two days of hearings at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, which is hearing appeals both by Karadzic and by prosecutors, who argue that he should have been convicted on two counts of genocide and given a life sentence.