Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Ratko Mladic to face tribunal on genocide charges
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Video
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our top photos from the past 24 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Joplin tornado chaos leaves hundreds still missing
|
26 May 2011
Boyfriend says Casey Anthony never told him of abuse
26 May 2011
Clinton in Pakistan, presses for more to quash
1:06am EDT
Hundreds still missing in tornado-hit Missouri city
26 May 2011
EBay and PayPal sue Google over trade secrets
26 May 2011
Discussed
128
As hours tick by, ”Judgment Day” looks a dud
105
Broadcaster silent as Judgment Day hours tick by
94
Obama departs for Europe trip, explores Irish roots
Watched
Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail
Tue, May 24 2011
Hundreds missing after tornado
2:40am EDT
Paying by phone not credit card
Thu, May 26 2011
Ratko Mladic to face tribunal on genocide charges
Tweet
Share this
By Aleksandar Vasovic
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic will face trial on genocide charges in The Hague following his arrest in Serbia after 15 years on the run, with European officials expecting his extradition within...
Email
Print
Factboxes
Key facts about Ratko Mladic
Thu, May 26 2011
Another Serb on the run, but who is Goran Hadzic?
Thu, May 26 2011
Related News
Timeline: Ratko Mladic: from hunter to hunted to held
Thu, May 26 2011
Chronology: Hague tribunal and Yugoslav war suspects
Thu, May 26 2011
Mladic arrest revives pain of Srebrenica killings
Thu, May 26 2011
Mladic was armed but did not resist arrest: minister
Thu, May 26 2011
Analysis & Opinion
WITNESS: An evening with Ratko Mladic
A tale of two rape charges
Related Topics
World »
Related Video
Suspected war criminal Ratko Mladic arrested
Thu, May 26 2011
G8 leaders hail Mladic arrest
Widows relieved over Mladic arrest
1 / 4
General Ratko Mladic (C) arrives at special court in Belgrade, May 26, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Handout
By Aleksandar Vasovic
BELGRADE |
Fri May 27, 2011 2:19am EDT
BELGRADE (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic will face trial on genocide charges in The Hague following his arrest in Serbia after 15 years on the run, with European officials expecting his extradition within 10 days.
The arrest on Thursday of Mladic, the last of the three men blamed for instigating ethnic cleansing during the 1992-5 Bosnian war, was expected to clear the way for the former pariah state of Serbia to join the European Union.
"On behalf of the Republic of Serbia I can announce the arrest of Ratko Mladic. The extradition process is under way," Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters in Belgrade.
Mladic, accused of orchestrating the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica and a brutal 43-month siege of Sarajevo, was found in a farmhouse owned by a cousin.
"Mladic had two loaded guns he did not use. He was cooperative and did not resist arrest," said Rasim Ljajic, the Serbian minister in charge of the search for fugitive war criminals.
Serbian state television showed video of Mladic, 69, being escorted by police to be interviewed by an investigative judge at the special war crimes court in Belgrade on Thursday. Wearing a cap, he was moving slowly with a slight limp.
Mladic's lawyer later told reporters the court had halted the questioning because his client was "in serious condition. He is hardly responsive." An official described the once burly general as looking disoriented and tired.
The deputy war crimes prosecutor said the court would continue to question Mladic on Friday.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she expected Mladic to be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague within nine or 10 days.
Tadic confirmed Mladic, 69, had been detained in Serbia, which for years had said it could not find him.
Although his arrest removed a diplomatic thorn from Belgrade's side, the revelation that Mladic was in Serbia, as many suspected, raises questions as to how he eluded justice for so long.
HERO TO MANY
Mladic, whose Bosnian Serb Army was armed and funded by the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, is still seen as a hero by many Serbs. Milosevic died in 2006 while on trial in The Hague for war crimes.
"This removes a heavy burden from Serbia and closes a page of our unfortunate history," President Tadic said.
The arrest may have come too late to place the general jointly on trial alongside his former political leader Radovan Karadzic, the Yugoslavia tribunal's prosecution office said.
Mladic was indicted in 1995 together with Karadzic, who was arrested in July 2008 and went on trial in October 2009. Prosecutors initially wanted to try both men together, but separated the case shortly before Karadzic's trial started.
Frederick Swinnen, special adviser to chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz, said it was too early to say for certain whether the Mladic and Karadzic cases would be rejoined, but added that doing so would also delay the trial of Karadzic.
Peter Robinson, one of Karadzic's legal advisers, said that Karadzic regretted the arrest of Mladic.
"Dr. Karadzic is sorry for General Mladic's loss of freedom. He looks forward to working with him to bring out the truth about what happened in Bosnia," Robinson told Reuters by email.
ARRESTED IN VILLAGE
Mladic was arrested in the village of Lazarevo, near the northeastern town of Zrenjanin around 100 km (60 miles) from the capital Belgrade in the early hours, the police official said.
Bosnian Muslim survivors said the news was bittersweet.
"This represents a small bit of justice for my heart, my soul and my pain," said Sabaheta Fejzic, 55, who lost her only son, her husband and many other male relatives in the massacre.
"It's long overdue but better than never. This is, in the end, a good move and it will work toward reconciliation," Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj said.
Many nationalists in Serbia, which was under international sanctions over the war in Bosnia and then bombed by NATO to stop atrocities in Kosovo in 1999, idolize Mladic and one representative made clear their fury with the government.
"This shameful arrest of a Serb general is a blow to our national interests and the state," Boris Aleksic, a spokesman for the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party said. "This is a regime of liars -- dirty, corrupt and treacherous."
Several dozen nationalists and hooligans rallied in downtown Belgrade to protest the arrest, clashing briefly with police who dispersed them from the main square, a Reuters reporter said.
Dozens of people were arrested and injured in 2008 throughout Serbia in riots following the arrest of Karadzic.
Tadic said he would not allow a repeat of such violence.
"This country will remain stable," he said. "Whoever tries to destabilize it will be prosecuted and punished."
Washington and other capitals hailed the arrest.
"The European prospects of Serbia are now brighter than ever," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
"Serbia is a country that has suffered a lot but the fact it has delivered presumed war criminals is very good news. It's one more step toward Serbia's integration one day into the European Union," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at a Group of Eight summit in France.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose administration brokered the deal that ended the Bosnian war, said: "The capture of Ratko Mladic enables the Bosnian people to close another chapter of one of the most terrifying conflicts of our time.
"As the military commander who systematically carried out brutal atrocities and mass murder, Mladic will finally be held accountable -- to Bosnia and the world."
(Additional reporting by Adam Tanner in Rabat, Aaron Gray-Block in Amsterdam and David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo and Catherine Bremer in Deauville; Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Miral Fahmy)
World
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Friday, 27 May 2011 Syrian forces fire on Deraa protesters: witnesses
|
Roadside bomb kills seven U.S. troops in Afghanistan
|
Gunmen kill Iraqi official who purged Saddam loyali
|
Mexico's Ernesto Cordero eyes 2012 presidential run
|
Witness: An evening with Ratko Mladic
|
Lockheed network suffers major disruption: sources
|
Facebook, Zuckerberg say ownership suit a fraud
|
Republicans, Democrats skeptical of AT&T deal
|
Sloppy recycling seen posing threat to green tech
|
Google takes wraps off pay-by-phone system
|
Microsoft board backs Ballmer over Einhorn
|
NY court keeps alive suit against Huffington Post
|
LinkedIn options to start trading in U.S. on Friday
|
Lindsay Lohan starts house arrest for jewelry theft
|
Oprah Winfrey bows out with simplicity, gratitude
|
Men still behaving badly in Hangover Part II
|
Clinton in Pakistan, presses for more to quash
|
Ratko Mladic to face tribunal on genocide charges
|
North Korea says it releases detained U.S. citizen
|
Civil war looms in Yemen, Saleh urged to quit
|
Japan powerbroker Ozawa ready to challenge PM: report
|
Bomb blast in southeast Turkey wounds two
|
G8 pledges financial help for Arab spring nations
|
East Libyans spend dwindling savings on bare basics
|
Google takes wraps off pay-by-phone system
|
EBay and PayPal sue Google over trade secrets
|
Analysis: S.Korea's smartphone love affair lures foreign suitors
|
Eircom in talks ahead of likely covenant breach
|
Facebook, Zuckerberg say ownership suit a fraud
|
Lindsay Lohan starts house arrest for jewelry theft
|
Old friends Stoller, Butler make new Broadway musical
|
Air France jet crashed nose-up after 4 minute ordeal
|
Russia joins Western chorus for Gaddafi to go
|
Protests erupt across Syria as world pressure grows
|
Egyptians demand deeper and faster reforms
|
Generals questioned as Turkey's pre-poll tensions show
|
Iran says nuclear bomb would be strategic mistake
|
Palestinians have no wish to isolate Israel: Abbas
|
Microsoft not too late for tablet party: Citigroup
|
Sony to begin restoring PlayStation Network in Asia
|
Mobile devices useful travel companions: poll
|
U.S. lawsuit claims RIM misled investors
|
Activist Icahn cuts stake in Take-Two Interactive
|
Solar panels win reprieve in EU toxic substance ban
|
Tessera sues Sony for non-payment of loyalty
|
Jessica Chastain off to roaring start in Hollywood
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights