Mladic could face two trials for alleged Bosnian war crimes

By the CNN Wire Staff

An undated picture provided by the Serbian Press Daily newspaper shows Bosnian Serb ex-army chief Ratko Mladic.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Former Bosnia Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic could have a war crimes indictment split in two
One indictment would focus on the 1995 Srebrenica massacre
The other indictment would focus on the shelling of Sarajevo and taking U.N. staff hostage
Prosecutors want to begin the trial as soon as possible; Mladic says he is "gravely ill"

(CNN) -- A notorious Bosnian Serb general accused of trying to eliminate Bosnian Muslims and Croats from their shared country could face two separate trials in the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Prosecutors want to try Ratko Mladic first for his alleged crimes in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995, according to a statement from the tribunal Tuesday.

Then, prosecutors want to try him for allegedly spreading terror throughout the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995, and for taking U.N. personnel hostage, the statement says. In both cases, Mladic faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws and customs of war, the statement says.

Prosecutors say dividing the case against Mladic "will maximize the prospect of justice for the victims, enable more effective management of the two separate trials and best allow the proceedings to be adapted in case of unforeseen contingencies."

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In addition, prosecutors say they're taking into account "Mladic's arrest at this late stage of the Tribunal's mandate, the need to ensure justice for the victims, the desirability of commencing a trial as soon as possible, and the need to plan for the contingency that Mladic's health could deteriorate."

Mladic, 69, was arrested May 26 after 15 years in hiding. He told the court June 3 that he was "gravely ill."

When Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s, Mladic led Bosnia Serb forces in the civil war that broke out in the part of Yugoslavia that became Bosnia-Herzegovina. More than 200,000 Muslims and Croats died in the 1992-95 civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys slaughtered at Srebrenica in 1995 -- Europe's worst massacre since World War II.

Mladic has appeared in court twice since his arrest. On June 3, he called the charges he faces "obnoxious." At a July 4 appearance, Mladic refused to enter a plea, demanded new lawyers and repeatedly interrupted the judge until he was removed from the court.