Serbia arrests war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic
Picture showing Radovan Karadzic as he is now presented to journalists by Serbian prosecutors
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Tuesday, 22, Jul 2008 08:27
Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic has been arrested in Serbia.
Mr Karadzic was one of the world's most wanted men after he went missing in 1996.
He has been indicted by the United Nations tribunal for war crimes and genocide over the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica.
A statement by the office of Serbian president Boris Tadic said: "Radovan Karadzic was located and arrested tonight.
"[Mr] Karadzic was brought to the investigative judge of the war crimes in Belgrade, in accordance with the law in cooperation with the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia".
His lawyer, Svetozar Vujacic, claims the Bosnian Serb political leader was arrested "on Friday in a bus", but officals claim he was detained on Monday in Serbia's capital Belgrade.
A press conference held by Serbian officials this morning claimed he was practising alternative medicine in a clinic in Belgrade and had adopted a false identity while in hiding.
He had developed a "very convincing disguise", with a long white beard, and called himself Dragan Dabic, it was declared.
The Serbian government added that it was "committed to arresting war criminals".
Mr Karadzic's wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, however, remains on the run.
Foreign secretary David Miliband welcomed Mr Karadzic's arrest, claiming it was "good news".
"This arrest will help close the region's decades of conflict, and pave the way for a brighter, European future for Serbia and the region," he said.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon described it as a "decisive step toward ending impunity for those indicted for serious violations".
White House press secretary Dana Perrino added the timing was "particularly appropriate", coming just days after the commemoration of the massacre of over 7,000 Bosnians at Srebrenica.
Reports suggest that Mr Karadzic will remain in Serbian custody for at least three days while his lawyer appeals against his extradition to The Hague.
The UN claims that while in power Mr Karadzic's military killed at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica in July 1995.
He is also charged with bombing of Sarajevo in May and June of the same year when over 280 UN peacekeepers were used as 'human shields'.