Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was transferred to a UN jail cell yesterday to await trial on charges of waging a genocidal war against non-Serbs during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
His arrival in a white Serbian government business jet from Belgrade marked the end of a 13-year effort by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal to take custody of its most wanted war criminal, accused of responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the sufferings of hundreds of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats.
Tribunal spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic, confirming his arrival at the UN detention center outside The Hague, said the tribunal will “ensure his well being and right to a fair trial as much as possible and in accordance with the highest international standards.”
The tribunal declined to give details of the transfer, citing security in future cases. But the confirmation came shortly after a helicopter landed behind the high wall of the jail while another helicopter hovered overhead. Two black minivans drove through the prison gates moments earlier.
He was expected to be summoned before a judge within a few days and asked to enter a plea on each of 11 counts, including genocide, extermination and persecution.
Karadzic’s lawyer Sveta Vujacic said in Belgrade his client will postpone entering a formal plea for 30 days, the maximum allowed under court rules.
Vujacic also acknowledged he never filed an appeal against Karadzic’s extradition from Serbia, and said the days long uncertainty over the appeal helped stall Karadzic’s handover.
It is likely to be several months before his trial begins, and could take several years before it concludes.
Prosecutors allege Karadzic masterminded atrocities including the July 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, the deadly siege of Sarajevo, and the detention of tens of thousands of people in 20 concentration camps where many were tortured, starved and sexually abused.
Hours before he left Belgrade, about 15,000 Serb extremists rallied in a main square in the Serb capital demanding a halt to the extradition. Several hundred hooligans separated from the group and hurled stones and burning flares at riot police.
Later, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at large groups of demonstrators, trying to push them away from the square as the rally ended. Nationalist organizers had predicted a much larger turnout.
Belgrade’s emergency clinic reported that 46 people were injured, including 25 policemen and 21 civilians. Most were lightly injured, doctors said, adding that only one civilian and one policeman were hospitalized. A Spanish TV journalist was among the injured.
Meanwhile, Bosnia’s war crimes court sentenced seven Bosnian Serbs to prison terms ranging from 38 to 42 years on Tuesday for taking part in the Srebrenica massacre.
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