THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic has been assigned a lawyer to represent him against charges of genocide.
Branko Lukic, an attorney from Serbia who was lead counsel in four other cases before the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, will lead Mladic's defence.
The court denied Mladic's first choice, Milos Saljic, because he spoke neither English nor French, the tribunal's two official languages.
Mladic told the court he cannot pay for another lawyer.
A tribunal statement Friday said Lukic will take on the case while the registrar assesses whether the court should pay his fees or whether Mladic can bear at least some of the cost.
Mladic was arrested two months ago, after 16 years as a fugitive.
