MPAC Commends Capture of Fugitive War Criminal Radovan Karadzic

July 22, 2008

Bosnian war criminal, Radovan Karadzic

The Muslim Public Affairs Council today expressed relief at the capture of infamous war criminal, Radovan Karadzic. Karadzic was indicted in 1995 by an international war crimes tribunal for the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica earlier that year. In 1997, Karadzic disappeared underground after losing power.

Karadzic served as president of then-republic Bosnia during the 1992-95 Bosnian war, and headed brutal tactics which sought to prevent the republic from seceding from Yugoslavia. The U.N. International Criminal Court charged Karadzic with genocide, persecution, and other crimes for the killings of non-Serbs by troops under his command during and after attacks on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Karadzic served as Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb armed forces and President of the National Security Council of the Serbian Republic. Under his direction and command, Bosnian Serb forces initiated the 43-month "Siege of Sarajevo" and carried out numerous massacres across Bosnia. Tens of thousands of non-Serbs were killed, hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes and thousands more were imprisoned in concentration camps where many died.

He is accused of ordering the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, directing Bosnian Serb forces to "create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope of further survival of life" in the U.N. safe area. In addition, he is accused of ordering that United Nations personnel be taken hostage in May-June 1995.

SEE: "Bosnian Serb Arrested on War Crimes Charges" (Reuters, 7/21/08)

SEE ALSO: "Profile: Radovan Karadzic" (BBC)

Karadzic had remained in hiding for more than a decade before he was arrested in Belgrade on Monday night. Karadzic, one of three fugitives wanted by the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, reportedly hid out in caves and monasteries in the mountains of eastern Bosnia before going to Belgrade. Once in Belgrade, Karadzic disguised himself as a practitioner of alternative medicine, "freely walking in the city," according to Serbian authorities. Now in custody, Radovan Karadzic will be transferred to The Hague. He has three days in which to appeal the decision.

"This day has been long awaited by victims of the Bosnian war," said Salam Al-Marayati, Executive Director of MPAC. "This is a huge step forward for international justice, confirming that those who commit crimes against humanity will ultimately be brought to justice."