Radovan Karadžic, one of the three remaining “Hague fugitives” (along with Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic), who faces war crimes and crimes against humanity charges at the Internationl Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia for crimes committed during the Bosnian War 1992-1995, was arrested in Belgrade on July 21, after 12 years in hiding.
Karadžic was arrested by the officers of the Security and Information Agency (BIA) and has been interrogated by the investigative judge of the District War Crimes Court Milan Dilparic.
Serge Brammertz, ICTY Chief Prosecutor, greeted the news from Belgrade, adding that this was “an important day for the victims who have waited for this more than a decade. This is also in important day for international justice, showing clearly that nobody is above the law and that, sooner or later, all fugitives will face justice”, said Brammertz.
ICTY reports that the date of transfer to its detainment unit will be defined soon, while Belgrade authorities expect for extradition procedure to be completed in the next nine days.
Karadžic faces two charges in the Hague (of July 25 and November 16, 1995, respectively) for genocide and crimes against humanity, including the seach of Sarajevo, orchestration of ethnic cleansing and mass rape campaign, liquidation of war prisoners and creation of concentration camps, as well as the genocide in Srebrenica.
Munira Subašic from the association Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa says that the arrest is a fragment of justice for the families of victims that have waited for 13 years for the suspects to be apprehended and face the court.
“Without justice there can be no reconciliation. This arrest is part of Belgrade’s politics, and I am sure that they know well the whereabouts of remaining fugitives, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic”, says Munira Subašic.
The news of the arrest resulted in a wave of elation in Sarajevo, with hundreds of people taking to the streets to celebrate. In Belgrade, on the other hand, a handful of extreme right-wing activists turned up in front of the District Court to protest the arrest, but were quickly dispersed by the police which turned up to protect the building in force.
Karadžic has been in hiding since 1996, when international warrant for his arrest was issued. Hague prosecutors claimed on several occasions they had information he was hiding in Serbia. At the moment of arrest, he worked in a private practice as alternative medicine practitioners, under the fake name of Dragan Dabic.
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