Srebrenica genocide suspect starts hunger strike

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A Bosnian Serb suspect in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre failed to appear before the Bosnian war crimes court to enter a plea on Thursday because he has started a hunger strike.

Ex-army captain Milorad Trbic was indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of laws or customs of war. He was transferred for trial in Bosnia in June.

"The Court was informed that the accused started a hunger strike on August 6, 2007. The Court recorded a plea of not guilty in accordance with the law," a statement from the court said.

As deputy security chief of the Zvornik Brigade of the Serb Republic army, Trbic is held responsible for the management of the military police company during the events in Srebrenica in July 1995, the statement said.

Some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in the Srebrenica massacre after Bosnian Serb forces captured the enclave in July 1995 in what is regarded as Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two.

"The accused knowingly participated in the forcible transfer of the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) population from the Srebrenica enclave, as well as in the summary executions and burial of able-bodied Bosniak men from Srebrenica," the court said.

On July 14, Trbic and other members of the Zvornik brigade military police company shot and killed outside the Grbavci school up to 20 Muslims who had been detained inside the school's gym, the court's indictment said.

Trbic is the 10th accused indicted by the tribunal who has been transferred for trial in Bosnia. The tribunal wants to focus on major suspects and speed up remaining hearings on crimes in the former Yugoslavia before it closes down in 2010.