The war crimes suspect, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been arrested in Belgrade. As ‘Blic’ learns one of the most wanted fugitives looked for by the Hague Tribunal was arrested yesterday evening at about 21.00 CET in the downtown of Belgrade (Vracar municipality). However, Karadzic’s lawyer Svetozar Vujacic claims that his client was arrested on Friday on a public bus on New Belgrade-Batajnica route.
Brother informed by friends, daughter watched TV
Luka Karadzic, brother of Radovan Karadzic said to have been informed by his friends about the arrest.
’Radovan’s daughter Sonja was watching TV when she learned from the CNN that her father had been arrested. What do I think about the arrest? I am sad. I would feel the same had this happened to Mladic. Sonja told me to have been shocked, but on the other hand glad to hear that he is still alive since at one point in the time there were rumors that he has been killed’, Luka Karadzic told ‘Blic’. He excluded any possibility that his brother has turned himself in voluntarily.
‘Blic’ further learns that Karadzic was heard by Milan Dilparic the investigation judge of the Trial chamber for war crimes of the District Court in Belgrade. The hearing ended last night at 02.05 CET and Karadzic was handed the indictment that the Hague Tribunal has raised against him.
‘Blic’ source further claims that during hearing Karadzic defended himself by keeping silence and denying any guilt. He rejected food and told his lawyer to have private messages for his family. Lawyer Vujacic says that Karadzic looked the same as in the wanted list only slimmer. The doctors examined him and found him to be healthy.
‘A month ago the BIA (Security Intelligence Service) located Karadzic but waited for his identity to be proved. The confirmation was received on Friday and all preparations were finalized over the weekend. The arrest action began after 19.00 CET’, ‘Blic’ source close to the investigation says.
Karadzic’s lawyer, however, claims that his client was arrested on Friday and kept for three days ‘at a location not known to him’.
‘Karadzic was on a public bus traveling from New Belgrade to Batajnica. The policemen entered the bus and put a cap on his head. Karadzic did not resist arrest and it is not known where he was taken afterwards. The cap was removed only after he was brought into a room. We shall request investigation as to where he was kept three days and why he was not delivered to the court immediately’, Vujacic says.
The first information marked ‘urgent’ was aired yesterday evening before 23.00 by the Council for the national security of the Republic of Serbia.
The Home Ministry issued a statement saying that its members had not participated in the arrest of Radovan Karadzic.
Karadzic was seen last time in Han-Pijesak in July 1996. The first indictment against Karadzic and Ratko Mladic was raised on July 25, 1995. It had 16 accounts, one on genocide and three on crimes against humanity.
The second indictment referring to the crimes in Srebrenica was raised on November 16, 1995 and had 20 accounts, one for genocide and nine for crimes against humanity.
The Hague Tribunal is expecting from Serbia to arrest and extradite another two war crimes suspects, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic.
http://www.blic.co.yu/infocus.php?id=2565 One more thing: all this time Radovan Karadjic was not hiding, he was working at some private clinique as a Psychiatrist in Belgrade! Of course, under some false Identity!
