Radovan Karadzic, Architect of Bosnian Genocide, Arrested Today in Belgrade
CBD Commends Serbia for Their Role in the Arrest

Monday, July 21, 2008

Radovan Karadzic, leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 war and genocide in Bosnia, was arrested Monday by Serbian authorities.

The office of Serbian President Boris Tadic announced Monday that he was arrested by Serbia security officers and "brought to the investigative judge of the War Crimes Court in Belgrade, in accordance with the law on cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)"

Since 1995, the Center has advocated for his arrest and has conducted numerous campaigns to pressure the international community to carry out what  the Serbian authorities finally did today. Until today, it was generally thought that Karadzic was hiding out in Bosnia or in Montenegro, where he was born. Just recently, his family home in Pale, Bosnia, was searched by international forces.

CBD commends Boris Tadic for taking this bold, necessary, and unprecedented step. CBD recognizes that that this will not be popular with many Serbs who still consider Karadzic and his war-time partner, Ratko Mladic, heroes.

CBD calls on Serbia and the international community to complete the closure of this tragic period in Balkan history and arrest Ratko Mladic, who is thought to be hiding in Serbia and protected by renegade Serbian security forces. Mladic was the Bosnian Serb war-time military leader and most responsible for the massacre at Srebrenica just over 13 years ago when 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed in a period of a few days.

CBD thanks the tens of thousands of supporters who have signed petitions and supported us in various ways during the thirteen years that we have been advocating for the arrests of Karadzic and Mladic.