Karadzic vows to fight extradition

Captured war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic is fighting extradition to face trial.A judge has ordered Karadzic's transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to face genocide charges.The 63-year-old has three days to appeal against the ruling and his lawyer Sveta Vujacic said he will launch the process to fight extradition on the last day, Friday, to thwart the authorities' wishes for his immediate transfer.Karadzic stands accused of the mass murder of more than 20,000 people during the Bosnian war in the 1990s.At least 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the town of Srebrenica over several days in 1995 when Serb forces overran the town.Bosnian Muslims in the town have welcomed the news of Karadzic's arrest.Nura Mujkic said they had been waiting "for this justice for thirteen years".She said: "Finally it comes. Now Ratko Mladic must be arrested too, and we can carry on with our lives."Some Bosnian Serbs living in Srebrenica were outraged on hearing the news of Karadzic's arrest.But others in the city, those who had braved a remorseless three-and-a-half year siege and relentless shelling, expressed their joy.News of Karadzic's capture was greeted with a measure of relief and grief by the Mothers of Srebrenica, an organisation of women who lost their sons, husbands and brothers in the massacre in the eastern Bosnian town.Nurija Sumic said the arrest would finally bring "a certain comfort" to the hearts of those who lost their loved ones in the massacre.Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade by the Serb authorities. He had been living in disguise - with long hair and a beard - and working as a doctor.He went underground in 1997 after losing power and became one of the world's most wanted men.The arrest of Karadzic and other alleged war criminals and their delivery to the Hague war crimes tribunal has been one of the main conditions of Serbian progress towards EU membership.Foreign Secretary David Miliband agreed Karadzic's arrest could now help pave the way for Serbia to join the EU.

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ITN | July 23, 2008

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