Karadzic flown to The Hague
Radovan Karadzic has been flown to The Hague
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Wednesday, 30, Jul 2008 05:01
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been flown from Belgrade to the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague.
He was moved from the court building in the Serbian capital last night, where he has been held since his capture last week after a decade on the run.
Mr Karadzic, 63, has been indicted for genocide and war crimes over his role in the war in Bosnia.
He is suspected of being directly involved in the killing of 8,000 Muslim Bosnians in the town of Srebrenica in 1995 and will also be examined over his role in other events during the war such as the siege of Sarajevo.
His extradition came hours after supporters clashed with police at a rally demonstrating against his arrest.
Around 15,000 people - far less than the hardline Radical party had expected - took to the streets in protest at his arrest.
The former political leader was transferred from the court building early this morning and flown to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
An escort of helicopters and cars then took him to the United Nations court's detention unit.
Mr Karadzic is due to make an appearance at the international court tomorrow to hear the charges against him.
He has previously stated that he will represent himself during his trial.
Speaking at a news conference this morning, Serge Brammertz, from the International Criminal Tribunal, claimed Mr Karadzic's arrest was "immensely important for the victims" and for international justice.
Mr Brammertz added: "We have waited too long to bring him to justice".
The prosecutor said the court would be working will Belgrade throughout the trial which he expected to take a long time.
He went on to praise the Serbian authorities for their arrest of the former Bosnian Serb leader and said it would be up to the judges to allow self-representation.
In his years in hiding, Mr Karadzic wore an elaborate disguise and posed as an expert in "human quantum energy" before his capture. His military commander Ratko Mladic, who is also wanted by the United Nations court, is still at large.