Karadzic Trial

Radovan Karadzic, a wartime president of Republika Srpska is defending himself before the ICTY against 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the war in Bosnia from 1992-1995, which saw an estimated 100,000 people killed. Some of the crimes the court accuses him of, are:

• taking part in the Srebrenica massacre, where around 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed and around 30,000 women, young children and elderly men forcibly removed;
• participating in the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where sniping and shelling killed and wounded thousands of civilians.

According to the indictment, the purpose of acts of extermination and murder that took place under the leadership of Karadzic was “to permanently remove Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian-Serb claimed territory.”

Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. He was hiding under the alias, Dr. Dragan Dabic, posing as an alternative health healer and psychologist. While a fugitive, he published several novels and poetry books.

Serbian authorities arrested Karadzic during on-going pressure from the European Union to hand over all war crimes suspects believed to be hiding in the country. Two high profile suspects, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, are still at large.

On several occasions during the hearings Karadzic emphasised he made an agreement with the late American diplomat Richard Holbrooke that he will not be prosecuted. The ICTY rejected this claim for immunity.

“Not ‘if’ I were released, but ‘when’ I will be released! Radovan Karadzic, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that he is confident in his case in The Hague. Last week, the former Bosnian Serb leader was given extra time to go through 32,000 pages of new material in his war crimes trial.

Proceedings at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will be suspended for seven weeks, from 21 March. Meanwhile, Karadzic answered some of the questions asked by the Radio Netherlands Worldwide International Justice Desk.

Journalists are not allowed to have a face-to-face contact with Karadzic, who is being held in a UN prison in Scheveningen. The following Q&A is a result of e-mail correspondence with him.

Q: If you were found not guilty and released, would you return to Republika Srpska or Serbia?
A: Not “if” I were released, but “when” I will be released!
Yes, I would return to Republika Srpska, but I would also like to spend time in Serbia and Montenegro. Those are my countries. But this would likely be decided by my grandchildren and their educational needs.

Q: What kind of reception do you think you would receive if you went back to Republika Srpska or Serbia?
A: Those who loved me will still love me and those who hated me will still hate me.

Q: If you ended up a free man, would you return to politics?
A: That would be the last thing I would do. Politics took the most productive 20 years of my life. I could have written a few more novels and volumes of poetry during that period. I was reluctant to go into politics in the 1990s and would not do it again.

Q: Do you get many support letters or other signs of support, and from whom, usually?
A: Yes, I get letters and messages from all over the world – Serbs and non-Serbs alike. Some people are also kind enough to send me literature, poetry, and music.

Q: Do you get many angry or threatening letters, if so, from whom?
A: No, the UN Detention Unit protects me from those.

Q: Do you feel betrayed by “your country” and “your people”, since you were arrested by Serbian authorities?
A: No. Serbia never promised not to arrest me. I wished that Serbia had a ‘raison d’etat’ to have benefitted from my arrest, but it appears they didn’t get anything out of it.

Q: Do you regret not surrendering to the Tribunal sooner?
A: No. I regret that the Tribunal refused to honour the agreement I had with Richard Holbrooke that I would not be prosecuted.

Q: What do you think about the current policy of Republika Srpska officials, especially Milorad Dodik?
A: Although President Dodik was a political opponent when I was President of the Republika Srpska, President Dodik has now experienced the same fundamental dishonesty by Bosnian Muslim leaders that I experienced in the 1990s. The Muslims pretend to the international community to espouse a multi-ethnic society, while in fact manipulating the system by insisting to be the ones to choose the representatives from the other ethnic groups. I can only sympathize with President Dodik for the headaches that the job brings and pray that he will have the patience, wisdom and courage to hold onto the principles that we fought for. If he does, he will have the full support of the opposition.

Download the print version of the International Justice Tribune 123 (PDF file)

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Earlier IJT editions:

• International Justice Tribune, 122 (16 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 121 (2 February 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 120 (19 January 2011)
• International Justice Tribune, 119 (14 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 118 (1 December 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 117 (17 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 116 (2 November 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 115 (20 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 114 (4 October 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 113 (21 September)
• International Justice Tribune, 112 (8 September 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 111 (25 August 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 110 (14 July 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 109 (30 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 108 (16 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 107 (2 June 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 106 (19 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 105 (5 May 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 104 (21 April 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 103 (7 April 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 102 (24 March 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 101 (10 March 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 100 (24 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 99 (10 February 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 98 (27 January 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 97 (13 January 2010)
• International Justice Tribune, 96 (23 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 95 (9 December 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 94 (25 November 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 93 (11 November 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 92 (28 October 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 91 (14 October 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 90 (30 September 2009)
• International Justice Tribune, 89 (16 September 2009)