Prosecutors to file new Karadzic indictment soon

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A new indictment against Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, charged with war crimes in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, will be filed by Monday, prosecutors told a U.N. court on Wednesday.

If the new indictment, which will likely be submitted with a motion to replace the existing 11-count indictment, contains any new charges it would also delay the start of his trial as it would trigger new plea hearings and pre-trial preparations.

"We expect to file the motion for a new indictment ... by Monday. The hope is that it will be Friday of this week," prosecutor Alan Teager told the presiding judge.

Judge Iain Bonomy continued to press Karadzic to accept legal representation or assistance in his defence, given the complexity of the trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

But Karadzic, who appeared alone in court for the third time since his arrest in Belgrade in July, insisted on representing himself. He did, however, indicate he would accept the assistance of a court liaison official to help him file motions and documents to the court.

"I must keep the trial in my own hands," said Karadzic, who appeared in court wearing a dark suit and tie with a pink shirt.

Karadzic again challenged the court's proceedings by bringing up his assertion that he had been offered immunity from prosecution in a secret deal during the waning years of the war by former U.S. peace mediator Richard Holbrooke.

Karadzic says Holbrooke reneged on the deal and now wants him dead, something the former diplomat has denied repeatedly.

Karadzic's comments brought a sharp response from the judge: "Please don't use this court as a platform."

On August 29, Bonomy entered a plea of not guilty on behalf Karadzic for war crimes and genocide charges after he refused to enter a plea.

The charges against Karadzic, 63, include two of genocide over the 43-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica.

Arrested in July in Belgrade with a flowing beard and long hair that disguised him while he worked as an alternative healer, Karadzic has shaved off the beard and cut his hair.

(Reporting by Reed Stevenson, additional reporting by Masahiro Koike)