Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has requested from the Hague Tribunal on Friday to subpoena the Greek president as a witness in his trial.
Karadzic proposed that the President of Greece Carlos Papoulias testify on March 26 next year in front the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY.
"There are reasonable grounds to believe that President Papoulias has information which can materially assist" reads the brief of Karadzic submitted to the ICTY.
Papaoulias was a Greek foreign minister between 1993 and 1996 and according to Karadzic "held a unique position among the various international interlocutors“.
"Because of the religious and historical ties between Greece and the Serbs, President Papoulias was one of the few international interlocutors whom the Bosnian Serbs trusted and with whom they could speak confidentially and candidly," Karadzic explained in his brief.
According to Karadzic, the Greek president's testimony can be crucial in establishing his innocence for the shelling of Sarajevo's Markale market on February 5, 1994.
Karadzic explained that he sent several letters to the Greek government, including the latest one, sent on March 21 this year, asking Papoulias to testify voluntarily, but he has not received any response.
Karadzic is charged, as president of Republika Srpska and supreme commander of its armed forces, with genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of rules and customs of war in the period between 1992 and 1995.
His trial started in October 2009, and the prosecution finished presenting its evidence in May this year. Karadzic is due to start presenting his evidence in October.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
To the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the arrest of Radovan Karadzic, indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, was a true sensation, and one to be exploited day after day.
In July 1995 Srebrenica was shelled and occupied by the Army of Republic of Srpska,VRS, despite being declared a protected area by the United Nations. More than 7,000 people were killed, the victims of genocide.