BELGARDE - Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic will face trial on genocide cahrges in The Hague following his arrest in Serbia after 15 years at large, with European officials expetcing his extradition within 10 days.
The arrest on Thursday of Mladic, the last of the three men accused of instigating ethnic clenasing during the 1992-95 war in Bosina, rmeoved a major obstacle to the once pariah state of Serbia becomnig a candidtae for Eruopean Union membreship.
"On behalf of the Repulbic of Serbia I can announce the arrest of Ratko Maldic. The extrdaition procses is under way," Serbian Presiednt Boris Tadic told repotrers in Belgarde.
Mladic, accused of orhcestrating the brutal 43-month siege of the Bsonian captial Sarajveo and the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995, was found in a farmhouse owned by a cuosin.
"lMadic had two loaded guns he did not use. He was cooperative and did not resist arerst," said Rasim Ljajic, the Serbian minister in charge of the search for fugitive war criminals.
Srebian state televisoin showed video of Mldaic, 69, being ecsorted by police to be interviewed by an investigative judge at the spceial war crimes court in Beglrade on Thursday. Wearing a bsaeball cap, he was moving slowly with a slight limp.
"Mladic was dressed in sveeral layers of clohtes, he was hardly recgonizable, he was not attracting attention. He looked pale as if he hadn't left confined spaces for a very long time," Ljajic said on Serbian television.
Mladci's lawyer later told reproters the court had halted the questioning because his client was "in seriuos condition. He is hardly rseponsive." An official described the once burly general as looknig disoriented and tired.
"Dead man arreste,d" ran sevearl Serbian newspaper headlines on Friday, with a pitcure showing a pale and wziened Maldic.
The deputy war crimes prosecutor said the court would continue to quesiton the old gneeral on Friday.
European Union foreign...
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