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Plane carrying Mladic lands in Holland
Plane carrying Mladic lands in Holland
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Serbia extradited Ratko Mladic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal on Tuesday where he will stand trial for genocide, 16 years after he was charged by the court for the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the worst massacre of civilians in Europe since World War II.
A Serbian government jet carrying the Bosnian Serb wartime military commander landed in Rotterdam and pulled into a hangar, out of view of reporters and live television cameras. A Dutch police helicopter stood just outside the hangar's entrance, and police vehicles also pulled up near by.
The government plane touched down at Rotterdam airport hours after judges in Belgrade rejected his appeal to delay his extradition on grounds of ill health, and the Serbian justice minister authorized his handover to U.N. officials in The Hague.
Mladic was being taken to the U.N. detention unit near The Hague to undergo a formal identification process. Within a few days he will be brought before a U.N. judge for a preliminary hearing.
In Belgrade, Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said the handover marked the fulfillment of Serbia's "international and moral obligation."
"Mladic is charged with the most serious crimes against humanity and the most serious violations of the international humanitarian law," she said.
Mladic is charged with genocide and other war crimes for atrocities committed by Serb troops under his command during Bosnia's 1992-5 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre in July of 1995 and the 44-month siege of the capital, Sarajevo.
Mladic's extradition brought a satisfied response from war victims.
"This means a lot to the victims of genocide," said Munira Subasic, head of the Sarajevo-based association of Srebrenica massacre survivors.
"Mladic has left and we believe that the evil will speak out of him and that he will tell the truth," Subasic said.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Serbia extradited Ratko Mladic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal on Tuesday where he will stand trial for genocide, 16 years after he was charged by the court for the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the worst massacre of civilians in Europe since World War II.
A Serbian government jet carrying the Bosnian Serb wartime military commander landed in Rotterdam and pulled into a hangar, out of view of reporters and live television cameras. A Dutch police helicopter stood just outside the hangar's entrance, and police vehicles also pulled up near by.
The government plane touched down at Rotterdam airport hours after judges in Belgrade rejected his appeal to delay his extradition on grounds of ill health, and the Serbian justice minister authorized his handover to U.N. officials in The Hague.
Mladic was being taken to the U.N. detention unit near The Hague to undergo a formal identification process. Within a few days he will be brought before a U.N. judge for a preliminary hearing.
In Belgrade, Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said the handover marked the fulfillment of Serbia's "international and moral obligation."
"Mladic is charged with the most serious crimes against humanity and the most serious violations of the international humanitarian law," she said.
Mladic is charged with genocide and other war crimes for atrocities committed by Serb troops under his command during Bosnia's 1992-5 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre in July of 1995 and the 44-month siege of the capital, Sarajevo.
Mladic's extradition brought a satisfied response from war victims.
"This means a lot to the victims of genocide," said Munira Subasic, head of the Sarajevo-based association of Srebrenica massacre survivors.
"Mladic has left and we believe that the evil will speak out of him and that he will tell the truth," Subasic said.
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