Radovan Karadžić

Radovan Karadžić (Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a former Bosnian Serb politician. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Karadžić, as President of the Republika Srpska, sought the direct unification of that entity with Serbia. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.

Educated as a psychiatrist, he co-founded the Serbian Democratic Party in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the first President of Republika Srpska from 1992 to 1996. He was a fugitive from 1996 until July 2008 after having been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The indictment concluded there were reasonable grounds for believing he committed war crimes, including genocide against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians during the Bosnian War (1992–95). While a fugitive he worked at a private clinic in Belgrade, specialising in alternative medicine and psychology under the alias Dr. Dragan David Dabić (Др Драган Давид Дабић) under the company name of “Human Quantum Energy”. His nephew, Dragan Karadžić, has claimed in an interview to the Corriere della Sera that Radovan Karadžić attended football matches of Serie A and that he visited Venice using a different alias (Petar Glumac).

He was arrested in Belgrade on 21 July 2008 and brought before Belgrade’s War Crimes Court a few days later. Extradited to the Netherlands, he is in the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He is sometimes referred to by the Western media as the "Butcher of Bosnia",  a sobriquet also applied to former VRS General Ratko Mladić.

Early life
Radovan Karadžić was born as in Petnjica near Šavnik in PR Montenegro, Yugoslavia, to a family hailing from the Drobnjaci Serb clan. His father Vuko had been a member of the Chetniks—the army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's government-in-exile during World War II—and was imprisoned by the post-war communist regime for much of his son's childhood. Radovan Karadžić moved to Sarajevo in 1960 to study psychiatry at the Sarajevo University School of Medicine.

He studied neurotic disorders and depression at Næstved Hospital in Denmark in 1970, and during 1974 and 1975 he underwent further medical training at Columbia University in New York. After his return to Yugoslavia, he worked in the Koševo Hospital. He also became a poet and was influenced by Serbian writer Dobrica Ćosić, who encouraged him to go into politics. Karadžić flirted with Bosnia's Green Party. During his spell as an ecologist, he declared that "Bolshevism is bad, but nationalism is even worse".

Financial misdeeds
Soon after graduation, Karadžić started working in a treatment centre at the psychiatric clinic of the main Sarajevo hospital, Koševo. According to testimony, he often supplemented his income by issuing fake medical and psychological evaluations to healthcare workers who wanted early retirement or to criminals who tried to avoid punishment by pleading insanity. In 1983, Karadžić started working at a hospital in the Belgrade suburb of Voždovac. With his partner Momčilo Krajišnik, then manager of a mining enterprise Energoinvest, he managed to get a loan from an agricultural-development fund and they used it to build themselves houses in Pale, a Serb-populated village above Sarajevo turned into a ski resort by the Communist establishment.

On 1 November 1984 the two were arrested for fraud and spent 11 months in detention before their friend Nikola Koljević managed to bail them out. For lack of evidence, Karadžić was released and his trial was brought to a halt. The trial was revived and on 26 September 1985 Karadžić was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzlement and fraud. As he had already spent over a year in detention, Karadžić did not serve the remaining sentence in prison.

Political life
Following encouragement from Dobrica Ćosić, later the first president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Jovan Rašković, the Croatian Serb leader, he cofounded the Serbian Democratic Party (Srpska Demokratska Stranka) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1989. This aimed at gathering the Republic's Bosnian Serb community and joining Croatian Serbs in leading them in staying part of Yugoslavia in the event of secession by those two republics from the federation.

Throughout September 1991, the SDS began to establish various "Serb Autonomous Regions" throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the Bosnian parliament voted on sovereignty on 15 October 1991, a separate Serb Assembly was founded on 24 October 1991, in order to exclusively represent the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following month, Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of staying in a federal state with Serbia and Montenegro, as part of Yugoslavia. In December 1991, a top secret document entitled ‘For the organisation and activity of organs of the Serbs people in Bosnia-Herzegovina in extraordinary circumstances’ was drawn up by the SDS leadership. This was a centralised programme for the takeover of each municipality in the country, through the creation of shadow governments and para-governmental structures through various "crisis headquarters", and by preparing loyal Serbs for the takeover in co-ordination with the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).

On 9 January 1992, the Bosnian Serb Assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Република српског народа Босне и Херцеговине/Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine). On 28 February 1992, the constitution of the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted and declared that the state's territory included Serb autonomous regions, municipalities, and other Serbian ethnic entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as "all regions in which the Serbian people represent a minority due to the Second World War genocide", although how this was established was never specified, and it was declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state.

On 29 February and 1 March 1992 a referendum on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia was held. Many Serbs boycotted the referendum while Bosniaks and Croats and pro-secession Serbs turned out, and 64% of eligible voters voted 98% in favor of independence.

President of Republika Srpska
On 6 April 1992, Bosnia was recognized by the United Nations as an independent state. , renamed Republika Srpska a few months later. Karadžić was voted President of this Bosnian Serb administration in Pale on about 13 May 1992 after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At the time he assumed this position, his de jure powers, as described in the constitution of the Bosnian Serb administration, included commanding the army of the Bosnian Serb administration in times of war and peace, and having the authority to appoint, promote and discharge officers of the army. Karadžić made three trips to the UN in New York in February and March 1993 for negotiations on the future of Bosnia.

He went to Moscow in 1994 for meetings with Russian officials on the Bosnian situation. In 1994, the Greek Orthodox Church declared Karadžić as "one of the most prominent sons of our Lord Jesus Christ working for peace" and decorated him with the nine-hundred-year-old Knights' Order of the First Rank of Saint Dionysius of Xanthe. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced that "the Serbian people have been chosen by God to protect the western frontiers of Orthodoxy".

On Friday, 4 August 1995, with a massive Croatian military force poised to attack the Serb-held Krajina region in central Croatia, Karadžić announced he was removing General Ratko Mladić from his commandant post and assuming personal command of the VRS himself. Karadžić blamed Mladić for the loss of two key Serb towns in western Bosnia that had recently fallen to the Croats, and he used the loss of the towns as the excuse to announce his surprise command structure changes. General Mladić was demoted to an "adviser". Mladić refused to go quietly, claiming the support of the Bosnian Serb military and the people. Karadžić countered by attempting to pull political rank as well as denouncing Mladić as a "madman", but Mladić's popular support forced Karadžić to rescind his order on 11 August.

War crimes charges
Karadžić is accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of personal and command responsibility for numerous war crimes committed against non-Serbs, in his roles as Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb armed forces and President of the National Security Council of the Republika Srpska. He is accused by the same authority of being responsible for the deaths of more than 7,500 Muslims. Under his direction and command, Bosnian Serb forces initiated the Siege of Sarajevo. He is accused by the ICTY of ordering the Srebrenica genocide in 1995, directing Bosnian Serb forces to "create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope of further survival of life" in the UN safe area. In addition, he is accused by the ICTY of ordering that United Nations personnel be taken hostage in May–June 1995.

He was jointly indicted by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in 1995, along with General Ratko Mladić. The indictment charges Karadžić on the basis of his individual criminal responsibility (Article 7(1) of the Statute) and superior criminal responsibility (Article 7(3) of the Statute) with:
 * Five counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 of the Statute – extermination, murder, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, persecutions, inhumane acts (forcible transfer));
 * Three counts of violations of the laws of war (Article 3 of the Statute – murder, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, taking hostages);
 * One count of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions (Article 2 of the Statute – willful killing).
 * Unlawful transfer of civilians because of religious or national identity.

The United States government offered a $5 million reward for his and Ratko Mladić's arrests.

Ongoing Bosnian Genocide Trial
Currently, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić are both on trial on two counts of genocide and other war crimes committed in Srebrenica, Prijedor, Ključ, and other districts of Bosnia. Karadžić and Mladić are charged, separately, with:


 * Count 1: Genocide. On 28 June 2012, the trial chamber granted a defence motion for acquittal on this count as "the evidence, even if taken at its highest, did not reach the level from which a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that genocide occurred in the municipalities [in question]". Motions for acquittal on nine other counts were dismissed. The Appeals Chamber subsequently concluded that the court had erred and reinstated Count 1 on 11 July 2013.
 * Municipalities: Bratunac, Foča, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Vlasenica and Zvornik.
 * Count 2: Genocide.
 * Municipality: Srebrenica.
 * Count 3: Persecutions on Political, Racial and Religious Grounds, a Crime Against Humanity.
 * Municipalities: Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Novi, Bratunac, Brčko, Foča, Hadžići, Ilidža, Kalinovik, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo, Pale, Prijedor, Rogatica, Sanski Most, Sokolac, Trnovo, Vlasenica, Vogošća, Zvornik, and Srebrenica.
 * Count 4: Extermination, a Crime Against Humanity.
 * Count 5: Murder, a Crime Against Humanity.
 * Count 6: Murder, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
 * Count 7: Deportation, a Crime Against Humanity.
 * Count 8: Inhumane Acts (forcible transfer), a Crime Against Humanity.
 * Count 9: Acts of Violence the Primary Purpose of which is to Spread Terror among the Civilian Population, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
 * Count 10: Unlawful Attacks on Civilians, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
 * Count 11: Taking of Hostages, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.

The Yugoslav war crimes court rejected on 27 June 2012 one of the two genocide charges against Karadžić. However, on 11 July 2013 the Appeals Chamber reinstated these charges.

Fugitive
Authorities missed arresting Karadžić in 1995, when he was an invitee of the United Nations. During his visit to the United Nations in 1993, he was handed a service of process for a civil claim under the Alien Tort Act. The Courts ruled that Karadžić was properly served and the trial was allowed to proceed in United States District Court.

Some sources allege that he received protection from the United States as a consequence of the Dayton Agreement. Holbrooke, however, repeatedly denied that such a deal was ever made.



His supporters say he is no more guilty than any other war-time political leader. His ability to evade capture for over a decade made him a local hero among the Bosnian Serbs, despite an alleged deal with Richard Holbrooke. During his time as fugitive he was helped by several people, including former CIA operative Bosko Radonjich and in 2001, hundreds of supporters demonstrated in support of Karadžić in his home town. In March 2003, his mother Jovanka publicly urged him to surrender. British officials conceded military action was unlikely to be successful in bringing Karadžić and other suspects to trial, and that putting political pressure on Balkan governments would be more likely to succeed.

In May 2004, the UN learned that: "the brother of a war crimes suspect allegedly in the process of providing information on Radovan Karadzic and his network to the ICTY, was mistakenly killed in a raid by the Republika Srpska police" and added that "It is being argued that the informer was targeted in order to silence him before he was able to say more".

In 2005, Bosnian Serb leaders called on Karadžić to surrender, stating that Bosnia and Serbia could not move ahead economically or politically while he remained at large. After a failed raid earlier in May, on 7 July 2005 NATO troops arrested Karadžić's son, Aleksandar (Saša) Karadžić, but released him after 10 days. On 28 July, Karadžić's wife, Ljiljana Zelen Karadžić, made a call for him to surrender after, in her words, "enormous pressure".

The BBC reported that Radovan Karadžić had been sighted in 2005 near Foča: "38 km (24 miles) down the road, on the edge of the Sutjeska national park, Radovan Karadžić has just got out of a red Mercedes" and asserted that "Western intelligence agencies knew roughly where they were, but that there was no political will in London or Washington to risk the lives of British, or U.S. agents, in a bid to seize" him and Mladić.

On 10 January 2008, the BBC reported that the passports of his closest relatives had been seized. On 21 February 2008, at the time Kosovo declared independence, portraits of Radovan Karadžić were on display during Belgrade’s "Kosovo is Serbia protest".

Karadžić gave lectures in front of hundreds of people on alternative medicine. He even had his own website, where he offered his assistance in the treatment of sexual problems and disorders by using what he called Human Quantum Energy. He also used the site for the sale of metallic, bullet-shaped amulets. He advertised himself as one of the most prominent experts in the field of alternative medicine, bioenergy, and macrobiotic diet. Karadžić had been masquerading as an expert in "human quantum energy" using the fake name "D.D. David" printed on his business card. The initials apparently stood for Dragan David Dabić, the name officials said he went by.

Allegedly evading capture in Austria
There have been reports that Radovan Karadžić evaded capture in May 2007 in Vienna, Austria, where he lived under the name Petar Glumac, posing as a Croatian seller of herbal solutions and ointments. Austrian police talked to him during the raid regarding an unrelated homicide case in the area where Karadžić lived but failed to recognize his real identity. He had a Croatian passport under the name Petar Glumac and claimed to be in Vienna for training. The police did not ask any further questions nor demanded to fingerprint him as he appeared calm and readily answered questions. Nevertheless, this claim has come into doubt ever since a man named Petar Glumac, an alternative medical practitioner from Novo Selo, Serbia, claims to have been the person the police talked with in Vienna. Glumac bears a striking resemblance to Karadžić's identity as Dragan Dabić. On the other hand his nephew, Dragan Karadžić, has claimed in an interview to the Corriere della Sera that Radovan Karadžić attended football matches of Serie A and that he visited Venice under the false identity of Petar Glumac.

Arrest and trial
The arrest of Radovan Karadžić took place on 21 July 2008 in Belgrade. He was in hiding, posing as a doctor of alternative medicine mostly in Belgrade but also in Vienna, Austria. The reward money for his arrest was allegedly never claimed; however, it is rumored that Karadžić was arrested by locals who came to find out his identity and simply claimed the cash. This would explain how the Serbian government claims that its police (MUP) had nothing to do with the arrest. Karadžić was transferred into ICTY custody in the Hague on 30 July. Karadžić appeared before Judge Alphons Orie on 31 July, in the tribunal, which has sentenced 64 accused since 1993. During the first hearing Radovan Karadžić expressed a fear for his life by saying: "If Holbrooke wants my death and regrets there is no death sentence at this court, I want to know if his arm is long enough to reach me here." and stated that the deal he made with Richard Holbrooke is the reason why it took 13 years for him to appear in front of the ICTY. He also made similar accusations against the former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnian foreign minister at the time, claimed that a Karadžić-Holbrooke deal was made in July 1996.

In August 2008 Karadžić claimed there is a conspiracy against him and refused to enter a plea, therefore the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf to all 11 charges. He called the tribunal, chaired by Scottish judge Iain Bonomy, a "court of NATO" disguised as a court of the international community. On 13 October 2009, the BBC reported that Karadžić's plea to be granted immunity from his charges was denied. However, the start of his trial was moved to 26 October so he could prepare a defense.

On Monday 26 October 2009 Karadžić's trial was suspended after 15 minutes after he carried out his threat to boycott the start of the hearing. Judge O-Gon Kwon said that in the absence of Karadžić, who was defending himself, or any lawyer representing him, he was suspending the case for 24 hours, when the prosecution would begin its opening statement. On 5 November 2009, the court forcibly imposed a lawyer on him, and postponed his trial until 1 March 2010.

On 26 November 2009, Karadžić filed a motion challenging the legal validity and legitimacy of the tribunal, claiming that "the UN Security Council lacked the power to establish the ICTY, violated agreements under international law in so doing, and delegated non-existent legislative powers to the ICTY", to which the Prosecution response was that "The Appeals Chamber has already determined the validity of the Tribunal’s creation in previous decisions which constitute established precedent on this issue", therefore dismissing the Motion.

Poetry
Radovan Karadžić has published poetry. Several of his books of poems were published while he was in hiding.
 * 1990: Crna bajka (Svjetlost, Sarajevo)
 * 1992: Rat u Bosni: kako je počelo
 * 1994: Ima čuda, nema čuda
 * 2001: Od Ludog koplja do Crne bajke (Dobrica knjiga, Novi Sad)
 * 2004: Čudesna hronika noći (IGAM, Belgrade)
 * 2005: Pod levu sisu veka (Književna zajednica "Veljko Vidaković", Niš)

Quotations
"There is no doubt that the United States and Germany had their own interests in igniting wars in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia"
 * —Radovan Karadžić speaking in May 2011 during a magazine interview given from Scheveningen Prison, The Hague

"You want to take Bosnia and Herzegovina down the same highway to hell and suffering that Slovenia and Croatia are travelling. Do not think that you will not lead Bosnia and Herzegovina into hell, and do not think that you will not perhaps lead the Muslim people into annihilation, because the Muslims cannot defend themselves if there is war – How will you prevent everyone from being killed in Bosnia and Herzegovina?"
 * —Radovan Karadžić speaking at the Bosnian parliament, on the night of 14–15 October 1991, in a charged atmosphere in a debate whether to declare the republic "sovereign", which would mean that republic's laws would take precedence over Yugoslav ones.

Awards and medals

 * Literary award Jovan Dučić for poetry, 1969
 * Literary award Michail Sholokhov in 1994, by the Union of Russian Writers.
 * Ordain of the Republika Srpska, 1994