A group of lawyers from the Chania bar association, from the Greek island of Crete, have announced they intend to visit Radovan Karadžić in the Hague Tribunal detention facility and offer to defend him pro bono.

The lawyers will ask international organisations to ensure a just trial for Karadžić, Serbian broadcaster B92 said.

"The aim of the visit is for us to see the conditions under which he is being held and to tell him that the association has decided to appoint a group of five of their colleagues to defend him free of charge," London Greek Radion quoted Dimitris Pontikakis, president of the Chania bar association, as saying.

"We believe that the International Court at The Hague will act on objective criteria, within the framework of legality and will not be influenced by political expediencies and interventions and that Radovan Karadžić will have a fair trial," Pontikakis said.