Srebrenica massacre suspect to enter plea at UN tribunal on Wednesday

A Bosnian Serb facing genocide charges for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre is scheduled to make his first appearance before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Wednesday, the Hague-based court announced today.

ICTY said in a statement that Dragan Obrenovic was expected to appear before the Tribunal at 3 p.m. The suspect, who was arrested by elements of the SFOR international force on Sunday, will be asked to enter a plea during his initial appearance.

According to the Tribunal's indictment, Mr. Obrenovic participated in a criminal plan to "detain, capture, and summarily execute by firing squad and bury over five thousand Muslim men and boys from the Srebrenica enclave, including the exhumation of the victims' bodies and re-burial in hidden locations."

Indicted on the basis of his personal criminal responsibility and his responsibility as a superior, Mr. Obrenovic faces five counts of complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity -- including extermination, murder and persecution on political, racial and religious grounds -- and violations of the laws or customs of war.