Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Radovan Karadzic Arrested!

The biggest news in the international criminal legal world in a while, and maybe of all time with regard to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Karadzic, allegedly almost indisputably was the mastermind behind the Srebrenica massacre, which involved the systematic murder and rape of Bosnian Muslims in a UN declared "safe area." In recent memory, most of the news coming out of the ICC has been somewhat yawn-inspiring questions of jurisdiction and propriety of prosecutions. It is nice to have a war criminal we can all get angry at and renew our commitment to international justice. Put him on trial!

For a more in depth factual account of what happened at Srebrenica, take a look at this judgment from the ICTY, Prosecutor v. Krstic. It will make you ashamed to be a member of the same species as these guys.

This also shows how serious the Serbs are about tracking down war criminals. Say what you will about how long it took to find this guy, but they must have put some effort into it, because how anyone recognized this guy at all is pretty amazing. Look at the difference!Photo from the Associated Press.

He went from "creepy club owner" to Karl Marx/organic food guru in 10 years.

2 comments:

A. Marigold said...

I'd actually heard that the Serbian government was almost certainly protecting him, because he was found within a week of the prime minister stepping down and new leadership taking power. Go figure.

the default attorney said...

The timing is very odd, you're right. I also think that entry into the EU (which Tadic's campaign was all about)provides at least some of the motivation. But I'll still take it!