Serbian refuses to enter plea on war crimes charges

Serbia's last major war crimes suspect refused to enter a plea on charges over the Croatian war, between 1991 and 1995, when he made his first appearance yesterday at the UN's Yugoslavia tribunal.

The arrest of Goran Hadzic, 52, and his transfer to The Hague, was a symbolic moment for Serbia and the Balkans region, ending an 18-year manhunt to detain all 161 suspects indicted by the Yugoslavia war crimes court.

The European Union insists that Serbia must arrest all wanted war criminals before the country is granted candidate status for membership. The EU is to issue a progress report in October. Mr Hadzic is charged with 14 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Reuters