Serbia captures fugitive Karadzic

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Serbia captures fugitive Karadzic

Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted men, has been arrested in Serbia after more than a decade on the run.

He has been brought before Belgrade's war crimes court, in accordance with a law on cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, the Serbian presidency said.

The Bosnian Serb wartime political leader disappeared in 1996.

He had been indicted by the UN tribunal for war crimes and genocide over the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.

His wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, remains at large.

Mr Karadzic's arrest was welcomed by war crimes prosecutors in The Hague as a "milestone".

"Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight" by Serbian security officers, a statement by the office of President Boris Tadic said, without giving details.

"Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [iCTY]."

Serbian government sources told Reuters news agency he had been under surveillance for several weeks, following a tip-off from a foreign intelligence service.

'Milestone in co-operation'

Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor of the ICTY, welcomed the arrest.

"I was informed by our colleagues in Belgrade about the successful operation which resulted in the arrest of Radovan Karadzic," he said in a statement in The Hague.

"On behalf of the Office of the Prosecutor, I would like to congratulate the Serbian authorities, especially the National Security Council, Serbia's Action Team in charge of tracking fugitives and the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor, on achieving this milestone in cooperation with the ICTY."

"This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade."

Richard Holbrooke, the US diplomat who brokered Dayton Peace Accord for Bosnia in 1995, told the BBC that "a major, major thug has been removed from the public scene".

"One of the worst men in the world, the Osama Bin Laden of Europe, has finally been captured," Mr Holbrooke told BBC World News America.

The arrest of Mr Karadzic and other indicted war criminals is one of the main conditions of Serbian progress towards European Union membership. The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the news.

"This is certainly a milestone in Serbia's cooperation with the international criminal tribunal on the former Yugoslavia. It proves the determination of the new government to achieve full cooperation with the tribunal," Mr Rehn said.

In Sarajevo people have gathered on the streets to celebrate news of the arrest.

"This is the best thing that could ever happen, you see people celebrating everywhere. I called and woke up my whole family," Sarajevo resident Fadil Bico told Reuters.

Karadzic denial

Mr Karadzic denied the charges against him soon after the first indictment and refused to recognise the legitimacy of the UN tribunal.

The UN says Mr Karadzic's forces killed at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica in July 1995 as part of a campaign to "terrorise and demoralise the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat population".

He was also charged over the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.

After the Dayton accord that ended the Bosnian war, the former nationalist president went into hiding.

International pressure to catch Mr Karadzic mounted in spring 2005 when several of his former generals surrendered and a video of Bosnian Serb soldiers shooting captives from Srebrenica shocked television viewers in former Yugoslavia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7518543.stm

[Amby 490]

I read this earlier. good job boys!

[Brad and Vika 129]

About time!

[Peikko 1,575]

!0 years? Someone wasn't trying very hard.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

!0 years? Someone wasn't trying very hard.

He was being hidden - they almost got him a few years ago but he was moved shortly before his safehouse was raided.

[Peikko 1,575]

I listened to a program today where they suggested that his hiding wasn't the reason he wasn't picked up before.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I listened to a program today where they suggested that his hiding wasn't the reason he wasn't picked up before.

I think at one point they knew where he was - but he was in a location that couldn't be assaulted without risking a lot of lives.

[Peikko 1,575]

You could be right - I just thought it was interesting that they put out the idea that there wasn't a huge effort to catch him from the get go.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You could be right - I just thought it was interesting that they put out the idea that there wasn't a huge effort to catch him from the get go.

I think also he was protected - I would imagine by Milosevic's followers.

[pepper 34]

finally!!!!

[Teacher Mark 53]

Was Osama with him?

It's about time.

Edited July 22, 2008 by WideAwakeInTheUSA