A combination photo shows Bosnian Serb
wartime leader and indicted war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic (L) in an
undated recent file photo and (R) attending a parliamentary session in the
Republik of Srpska in Bosanski Samac February 13, 1995. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BELGRADE,
July 22 (Xinhua) -- The newly arrested "top war crimes suspect" Radovan Karadzic
had been hiding in Serbian capital Belgrade with false identity and posed as a
doctor, Serbian officials said Tuesday.
"Karadzic had been using forged documents with the
name Dragan Dabic," Rasim Ljajic, president of the Serbian National Council for
Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal said at a news conference.
Radovan Karadzic attends a parliamentary
session in the Republik of Srpska in Bosanski Samac in February 13, 1995
file photo. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"Karadzic was not a Serbian citizen and he had been
very convincing in hiding his true identity," said Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor
Vladimir Vukcevic who joined the conference.
"He made money by practicing alternative medicine in
a private clinic in Belgrade; neither people in the clinic nor his landlord knew
his true identity," Vukcevic said.
"His last residence was in the suburban area of New
Belgrade. He had moved freely through the city, and had appeared in public
places."
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic (L) and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic sign documents in
this undated file photo. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
On a picture shown at the news conference, Karadzic
was almost unrecognizable as a thin old guy with long gray hair and whiskers and
glasses.
The former Bosnian Serb leader was arrested last
night in Belgrade while moving to a different location, the two officials said,
adding that the operation had begun yesterday afternoon and preparations had
been underway some time earlier.
But they denied that the arrest was done by a chosen
place and time, explaining that Karadzic's whereabouts were found out when
security agents were following a group of people suspected of being part of the
fugitive's support network.
A worker checks the new issue of the
day's newspaper, featuring Radovan Kradzic on the front page, in Belgrade
July 22, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"There was international pressure to arrest Mladic,
not many people expected Karadzic's arrest. But operative knowledge led to his
location and arrest," Ljajic said.
Ljajic and Vukcevic declined to reveal details of the
arrest, saying a reconstruction of the suspect's movement was still ongoing
which could be of help in the hunt for the remaining fugitives.
Karadzic was questioned by the investigative judge at
Belgrade District Court earlier in the day, but he was silent for the most part,
and he had been handed his Tribunal indictment.
Vukcevic said Karadzic will be extradited to the
Hague Tribunal.
Karadzic has been on the run since July 1995 when he
was indicted, together with his military commander Ratko Mladic, by The
Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1992-1995 Bosnian
War.
His arrest is believed to be a clear sign of Serbia's
newly formed pro-Western government to establish closer ties with the European
Union, which has set full cooperation with the ICTY by arresting all the
remaining top war crimes suspects as a condition for applying the pre-membership
Stabilization and Association Agreement.
Bosnian Serb wartime president Radovan
Karadzic (R), posing as a doctor of alternative medicine called Dr. Dragan
David Dabic and attending a medical lecture, is seen in this video grab
released July 22, 2008. The footage released by Healthy Life Magazine was
taken in January 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- World opinion mixed on
Tuesday after the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
The Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the
arrest of Karadzic was "an internal matter" for Serbia, and the trial of
Karadzic should be "impartial," accusing the UN war crimes tribunal of "an often
biased approach." Full story
BELGRADE, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Serbia vowed Tuesday to
arrest the two remaining war crimes suspects if they do not give themselves up
to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague following the arrest of former
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said that the
arrest of Karadzic shows that the new Serbian government is determined to honor
its domestic and international legal obligations concerning the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Full story
BRUSSELS, July 22 (Xinhua) -- EU foreign ministers said
here on Tuesday that the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic
was "a significant step on Serbia's path towards the EU."
"This development illustrates the commitment of the new
government in Belgrade to contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans
regions," the ministers said in a conclusion of their meeting. Full story
BELGRADE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Former Bosnian Serb leader
Radovan Karadzic, a top war crimes suspect, was arrested on Monday night in
Serbia, the office of Serbian President Boris Tadic said in a statement.
"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)," said the
statement, adding that the raid was conducted by the Serbian security forces. Full story
