[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Friday opened the trial [press release] of former Bosnian Serb leader Zdravko Tolimir [case materials; JURIST news archive]. Tolimir is charged [indictment, PDF] with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and murder. The crimes with which Tolimir is charged were allegedly carried out against Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica [JURIST news archive] and Zepa from July-November 1995.

Also on Friday, the ICTY rejected a motion by Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [case materials; JURIST news archive] to delay the calling of witnesses in his own trial. Karadzic and Tolimir's cases are among the 40 ongoing trials at the ICTY. Tolimir, a former general and aide to top Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic [case materials; JURIST news archive], was apprehended in May 2007. Mladic and Bosnian Serb political leader Goran Hadzic [ICTY profile] remain at large. The ICTY has indicted 161 political and military officials since its creation in 1993.