Serbia expected to extradite Zupljanin to Hague next week

17/06/2008

BELGRADE, Serbia -- A judge with the Belgrade District Court War Crimes Chamber signed an order Monday (June 16th) to extradite war crimes suspect Stojan Zupljanin to the UN tribunal in The Hague. His defence team now has three days to appeal. The extradition will likely take place next week. Arrested last week near Belgrade, the former head of Republika Srspska police in BiH is charged with the ethnic cleansing of Muslim and Croats during the 1992-1995 conflict.

In other news Monday, a Dutch court began a hearing on the civil suit brought against the Netherlands by relatives of Bosniaks killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. They accuse Dutch troops of failing to protect the civilian population in the enclave, which was a UN safe haven sheltering thousands of Bosnian Muslims. It came under attack by Bosnian Serb forces, resulting in the deaths of 8,000 Muslims. (Dnevni Avaz - 17/06/08; B92, Beta, Tanjug, Fena, BBC - 16/06/08)