Karadzic to defend himself, mirroring Milosevic

by David Vujanovic2 hours, 32 minutes ago

Captured Bosnian Serb genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic is to defend himself before the UN war crimes court, his lawyer said Wednesday, raising memories of the trial of his late ally, Slobodan Milosevic.

Karadzic, who stands indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity, was arrested in Belgrade on Monday, having evaded capture for more than a decade partly thanks to a fake identity as an alternative health guru.

The Bosnian Serb political leader during the 1990s Bosnian war was a close ally of then Yugoslav president Milosevic, who was also indicted for war crimes and had chosen to defend himself before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Milosevic's manipulation of the role was blamed for making his trial one of the longest in international legal history at more than four years. The Serbian strongman died in custody in The Hague in 2006 before a verdict was delivered.

"Karadzic will have a legal team in Serbia that will help him with his defence but he will defend himself" at the ICTY, his lawyer Svetozar Vujacic said.

Vujacic had said on Tuesday that he would file an appeal against Karadzic being sent to the court, in a bid to postpone the transfer for as long as possible.

"I will lodge the complaint on the last day of the deadline, on Friday. I do not think it will be adopted, but I will disrupt their plans to transfer him," Vujacic said, estimating Karadzic might not be transferred "before the end of next week."

Under Serbia's law on cooperation with the ICTY, suspects can appeal their transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal before a special committee approves the move.

The process could take up to nine days, but Serbia's war crimes prosecution has said it expects Karadzic to be sent to the UN court by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080723/ts_afp/warcrimesictyserbiabosnia

And then, there's this.....

Bush Reaffirms Support for Kosovo
By Paula Wolfson White House 21 July 2008

President Bush has met with Kosovo's leaders for the first time since the former Serbian province declared its independence in February. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush conferred at the White House with both President Fatmir Seijdu and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

From left: Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Fatmir Seijdu and President Bush at the White House, 21 Jul 2008

President Bush says he backs an independent Kosovo, and says he told the Kosovar leaders he wants other countries to do the same.

"I pledged that the United States will continue to work with those nations that have not recognized an independent Kosovo in order to convince them to do so as quickly as possible," said President Bush.

More than 40 countries, including the United States and key members of the European Union, have recognized Kosovo's independence. But Serbia is bitterly opposed. And Russia, which has allied itself with Belgrade on this matter, has used its veto power to block formal acceptance of the new state by the U.N. Security Council.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-21-voa50.cfm

The big news....

Top war crimes suspect Karadzic arrested in Serbia

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused architect of massacres making him one of the world's top war crimes fugitives, was arrested on Monday evening in a sweep by Serbian security forces, the country's president and the U.N. tribunal said.

Karadzic is suspected of masterminding mass killings that the U.N. war crimes tribunal described as "scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history." The killings include the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, Europe's worst slaughter since World War II.

"I was informed by our colleagues in Belgrade about the successful operation which resulted in the arrest of Radovan Karadzic," the tribunal's head prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, said.

He was indicted on genocide charges in 1995 by the tribunal, and topped the its most-wanted list for more than a decade, allegedly resorting to elaborate disguises to elude authorities.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080721/ap_on_re_eu/serbia_karadzic