The trial of an Edmonton man accused of taking a Canadian soldier hostage and forcing him to be a human shield in the former Yugoslavia ended in a mistrial on Monday.

Nicholas Ribic was accused of being among a group of Bosnian Serb soldiers who kidnapped Canadian Forces Capt. Patrick Rechner and Capt. Oldrich Zidlik of the Czech Republic, both acting as UN observers during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict in 1995.

Images of Rechner chained to a post and being used as a human shield were seen across Canada during the hostage-taking.

Nicholas Ribic

Those pictures became emblematic of NATO's inability to deal with Serbian military aggression.

The hostages were released in good health after 24 days.

Justice Douglas Cunningham declared the mistrial in Ontario Superior Court after Ribic's lawyer requested it.

Capt. Rechner chained to a post in 1995

D'Arcy DePoe asked for the mistrial, arguing that issues of national security need to be dealt with before the case can go ahead.

Those issues, involving two witnesses, a document and a video, need to be addressed by the Federal Court of Appeals. DePoe said that could take as long as seven months.

The trial had been under way for months. The last time the jury heard evidence was in late October.

"I think we've reached the limit with respect to being satisfied that a fair trial can be achieved," said Cunningham. "It's simply too long for the jury to sit without hearing evidence."

The prosecution finished presenting its case on Oct. 21. The defence hit snags almost as soon as it began to present its case.

Prosecutors Peter Lamont and Don MacDougall argued Monday that the federal court has already ruled on the defence issues, but Cunningham said the defendant should be allowed full process, including appeals of rulings made in other courts.

A new trial will be considered by the court on March 7.

DePoe said a new trial wouldn't begin for months, and that it could ultimately be thrown out entirely over the national security issues.