Defence lawyers want acquittal for Mladic

THE HAGUE - Ratko Mladic's defence lawyers on Tuesday demanded that the former Republika Srpska Army commander-in-chief be acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of charges of orchestrating atrocities during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

In the defence's closing argument before the ICTY, lawyer Dragan Ivetic said "the only fair and just outcome is an acquittal due to the fact the prosecution has failed to meet its burden of proof as to General Ratko Mladic," the AP reported.

The prosecution last week demanded a conviction and life imprisonment for Mladic, arguing that a shorter sentence would be "an insult to the victims, living and dead, and an affront to justice."

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