Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has had his first skirmish with the UN war crimes tribunal: He was cut short by the judge when he tried to protest his arrest, and put on notice that the prosecution will object to his demand to represent himself.
At his initial court session overnight, Karadzic also claimed his seizure and trial violated a deal he made with the United States in 1996 that the case against him would be scrapped if he left politics and did not undermine the peace agreement that ended the Bosnian war.
Karadzic appeared at a plea hearing one day after he was extradited from Serbia to the custody of UN authorities to answer genocide and war crimes charges for the murder of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats and for directing a reign of terror during the ethnic cleansing of the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
He declined to enter a plea to the 11 charges against him, and told the judge he intended to act as his own lawyer for the duration of the case.
But prosecutor Alan Tieger asked the judge to caution Karadzic about the risks of conducting his own defence - an indication that the prosecution wanted to avoid a repeat of the much-criticised trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in jail in 2006 before his four-year trial ended.
"With all due respect to you personally, I will defend myself before this institution as I would defend myself before any natural catastrophe," Karadzic told Judge Alphons Orie.
Orie scheduled a new hearing on August 29 at which Karadzic must enter pleas. If he does not, the court will enter not guilty pleas on his behalf.
It was the first time Karadzic was seen in public since he dropped out of sight more than a decade ago. He appeared thinner, greyer, but still defiant, self-confident and able to joke.
The full beard, long hair and loose white clothes that he wore when posing as a new age psychologist in Belgrade were replaced by a clean shave, fresh haircut and a business suit with a black briefcase.
"I've been in worse places," he replied with a smile when Orie asked him about conditions at the UN jail.
Asked to state his last address before his arrest, Karadzic said officially he lived with his wife in Pale, Bosnia, but also gave a Belgrade address where he lived "in my other identity".
When Orie asked him if his family knows his whereabouts, Karadzic smiled and replied "I do not believe there is anyone who does not know that I am in the detention unit".
Though dismissive of the court, Karadzic was respectful, stood at military attention when Orie entered the courtroom and sat motionless as the judge summed up the charges against him.
But his face showed frustration when Orie refused to let him read a prepared four-page statement outlining "numerous irregularities", including a claim that he was kidnapped three days before his announced arrest in Belgrade on July 21.
Orie cut him off when he began speaking about a deal he made with UN negotiator Richard Holbrooke in 1996, a year after he was indicted by the UN court in The Hague.
Orie said the court would hear those complaints at the right time, but "the appropriate moment is not now". He suggested Karadzic file a legal submission in writing.
"This is my filing," Karadzic said, holding out the sheaf of papers at arm's length.
Holbrooke later denied cutting a deal with Karadzic that would have allowed him to avoid facing war crimes charges in exchange for keeping a low profile.
The US diplomat, architect of the Dayton peace agreement that ended the Bosnian conflict, told CNN he won a commitment from Karadzic in July 1996 to step down from his political positions.
"I negotiated a very tough deal. He had to step down immediately from both his posts as president of the Serb part of Bosnia and as head of his party. And he did so," Holbrooke said in a recorded interview.
"But when he disappeared, he put out a piece of disinformation that I had cut a deal with him if he disappeared we wouldn't pursue him. That was a completely false statement."
In the Bosnian capital, cafes showed Karadzic's hearing on giant flat-screen TVs.
"It's him," said Elvir Kljakic, 27, who lost his father and brother during the war. "It's the beast. I did not believe it until now."
"I'm happy and sad at the same time," said Alena Tiro, 42. "Happy because the world seems to be not as bad as I thought so far if it forced him to the courtroom. Sad because 100,000 people he killed are not watching this."
In the small office of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica, about 20 widows watched the broadcast.
"There is the trash," one of them said when Karadzic appeared. Three women burst into tears.
"I have not found one bone of my children yet and there he is - alive," said Ramiza Music, 52, who lost two teenage sons, a husband and two brothers in the Srebrenica massacre. "Today I feel there is a bit of justice in this otherwise really pitiful world."