UN Secretary-General urges arrest of fugitives

UN Secretary-General urges arrest of fugitives

At a short press briefing at the end of his visit, the Secretary-General expressed his "deepest appreciation and respect for what the judges and prosecutors have been doing and will be doing to have the rule of law principle firmly established' and to bring “an end to impunity to war criminals”.

Asked whether the UN would make it possible for Karadžić and Mladić to be tried if they are arrested after end of Tribunal’s mandate, Ban Ki-Moon urged those who are the most responsible to make sure the two accused face trial.

He added it was "in their interest and in the interest of global peace and stability."

In his talks with President Pocar, the Secretary-General said he had sensed a certain frustration over a perceived inability to complete the ICTY mandate because of non-cooperation and non-availability of the accused.

In his opinion, this “is a matter to be closely coordinated and consulted with the members of the Security Council”. Ban Ki-moon expressed his hope that the judges and the prosecutors of the Tribunal would be able to complete their task.

“Karadžić hiding in Russia”

Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadžić is hiding in Russia, a Bosnian newspaper claims.

The paper was citing an intelligence source, but Russian authorities denied the comments, Reuters reports.

"We got this information by wiretapping a telephone conversation abroad," an unnamed official of the State Investigation and Protection Agency told the daily Oslobođenje.

The Russian embassy in Sarajevo denied the allegation and the Federal Migration Service in Moscow said it had no information pointing to Karadžić hiding in Russia.

"We have no information to that effect," a migration spokesman told Interfax news agency. "We have not issued entry documents to Karadžić."

Bosnian Serb wartime leader Karadžić and his military commander Ratko Mladić are the two men most wanted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague for atrocities committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

They are indicted for genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys and the 43-month siege of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, during which about 11,000 people were killed.

They remain at large 10 years after the U.N. tribunal indicted them. Mladić is believed to be hiding in Serbia while Karadžić's whereabouts are disputed.

U.N. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who is leaving her job in September, appealed to the European Union on Wednesday not to resume talks on closer ties with Serbia until it hands over Mladić and Karadžić.