Ratko Mladic Arrested in Serbia: Live Blog

18:45 - Bosnian Serbs also protested in Pale carrying banners that read "General, we are with you". No incidents were reported.

18:40 - More than 500 Bosnian Serbs from Eastern Sarajevo took the streets of Eastern Sarajevo in protest against Mladic's arrest shouting slogans in support of the former Bosnian Serb general.  

The protests were organised by war veterans from East Ilidza and Eastern Sarajevo.

One of the protesters, Dusan Djurovac told Balkan Insight: "The arrest was disgrace," while one middle aged woman said that Mladic was her idol and hero. The protest was peaceful and appears to have ended.

17:50 - The Hague Tribunal names judges for Mladic case. The trail chamber will include: Christoph Flugge, Alphons Orie and Bakone Justice Moloto.

17:40 - The Hague Tribunal accepts proposal of the Prosecutor's Office to change the indictment against Ratko Mladic, and ordered for the amended indictment to be submitted within seven days.

17:15 - Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz says that Mladic could not have been hiding for 16 years without support.

In an informal meeting with journalists, Brammertz, however, indicated that is "too early" to talk about Mladic's support network, B92 reports.

16:30 - The prosecutor at Belgrade's basic court asks judges to quash the acquittals of six people accused of helping Mladic hide.

16:15 - Upon completion of the extradition proceedings, Mladic will be placed in one of the 15-square-metre cells in Scheveningen, Tanjug reports.

16:10 - People from the northern village of Lazarevo are preparing to sign a petition requesting for the village or at least the street where Mladic was hiding to be named after him.

15:50 - Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says that the war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic has been hiding in the northern Serbian village of Lazarevo for years.

When reporters asked him whether inteligence and military services were helping Mladic, Dacic said: "If they were giving him such a help, then it's was disaster because he lived in very difficult conditions, sick, and alone."

14:44 - Lawyers of families of soldiers who were found shot in military barracks in Topcider, Belgrade in October 2004 request for Mladic to be examined in connection with the Topcider case.

14:25 - Mladic gets strawberries and TV for his detention unit, as he requested.

14:10 - Milos Saljic, Mladic's defence lawyer, says the court has ruled that the former general can be extradited to The Hague. Saljic told reporters that defence will appeal on Monday.

14:05 - The court determines that Mladic is fit to stand trial in The Hague, Maja Kovacevic Tomic, spokesperson for the Special court, confirms for RTS.

13:55 - The hearing ends.

13:50 - Darko Mladic said that his father is in very bad condition and would seek Russian doctors to examine him.

13:20 - The hearing of Mladic continues at Belgrade's Special War Crimes Court.

12:55 - BIRN- Justice Report has learnt that Mladic refused to sign a report on the examination held last night, pointing out that he did not kill anyone with “his own hands”, but “those who did will have to be tried for that!” 

12:30 - The Association of Veterans of Republika Srpska will hold a protest rally against Mladic's arrest in Banja Luka on May 31, while other rallies are planned in Mladic's hometown and the Bosnian Serb military base of Pale.

11:30 - Belgrade daily Press writes that Croatia's Jutarnji List was the first to report on the Mladic's arrest because journalists from the Croatian newspaper were eavesdropping the phone of Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor, Vladimir Vukcevic, who was with Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on the Brijuni Islands in Croatia on Thursday.
 

10:55 - Mladic is examined by doctors. His defence lawyer says they are now awaiting the results of the medical tests.

10:10 - Mladic's wife and son, Bosiljka and Darko, are seen entering the detention centre of Belgrade's Special War Crimes Court through a back door with a big black bag. B92 reports that Mladic's two family members visited with him on Friday for the first time in ten years.

09:35 - Belgrade daily Politika publishes the first picture showing Mladic's face. This is what he looks like today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

09:10 - The Serbian Radical Party, SRS, announces that they will hold a rally against the arrest of the former Bosnian Serb commander on Sunday at 7pm.

09:05 - The level of security in Serbia has been raised and a ban on public gatherings has taken effect in Belgrade.

08:20 - Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor Serge Brammertz says it is possible that the indictment against Mladic will be expanded.

08:15 - Serbian Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric said that Mladic's hearing is expected to continue at noon.

Friday, May 27, 2011

23:25- Police prevent several hundred protesters from storming the premises of the ruling Democratic Party in Novi Sad. Earlier, about 500 protesters tried to attack the building of RTV Vojvodina but were stopped by the police. Two of the protesters are reported to be injured.

22:46 - Serbian president Boris Tadic tells CNN's "Connect the World" that he expects Mladic to be transferred to the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia "within seven days." He said Serbian authorities are still investigating who aided Mladic during his decade and a half on the run, but he called allegations that the country's military sheltered him "rubbish."

"At the end of the day, he was protected by a very small group of people from his family," Tadic said. He acknowledged that Mladic may have been aided by military officers early on, "but at the end of that process, I don't believe that," Tadic said.

21:15 - Serbian Deputy War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric tells broadcaster B92 that Mladic has defended his positions as in the past. He says the wartime Bosnian Serb military leader looked like himself but was thinner than in the latest publicly released pictures. Vekaric add that it is clear that Mladic has been following the press because he immediately recognised the prosecutor and addressed him by name.

Vekaric could not reveal what had been said at the hearing, but confirmed that it had to be postponed because of Mladic's health, noting that it took hours before Mladic appeared before the judge.

20:50 - The investigating judge interrupts the hearing of Mladic due to the defendant's poor physical state. The questioning will continue tomorrow. Mladic's lawyer Milos Saljic said that the investigating judge Milan Dilparic tried to talk to Mladic, but failed as the former general was unable to communicate.

20:45 - Police have suppressed protests at Trg Republike Square.

20:30 - Dozens of Mladic supporters shouting "Save Serbia and kill yourself, Boris Tadic" have gathered at Trg Republike Square in downtown Belgrade.

20:20 - Serbian police disperse about a dozen protesters who gathered at the Belgrade's main square over Mladic's arrest.

20:05 - Serbian public service broadcaster RTS shows the first footage of Mladic since his arrest. The wartime Bosnian Serb military leader looks frail and walks slowly in the court building, surrounded by police officers. 

20:00 - Serbian police suppress a protest in downtown Belgrade attended by a few dozen people.

19:45 - An investigating judge at Belgrade's special court for war crimes begins interviewing Mladic.

19:40 - Mladic is examined by medics before he appears before an investigative judge.

19:15 - US President Barack Obama: "I applaud President Tadic and the Government of Serbia on their determined efforts to ensure that Mladic was found and that he faces justice... On this important day, we recommit ourselves to supporting ongoing reconciliation efforts in the Balkans and to working to prevent future atrocities."

19:12 - Balkan Insight has learned from the Special Court for War Crimes that Mladic's questioning by an investigative judge has not yet begun.

18:48 - Ultra-nationalist organisations in Serbia are preparing to organise protests over Mladic's arrest in all Serbian towns at 8pm, Balkan Insight has learned.

18:38 -  Nerma Jelacic, ICTY spokeswoman told Balkan Insight: The tribunal was very pleased to hear the news that Ratko Mladic was arrested, especially since he has been on the run for 16 years. The tribunal is now awaiting notification from the Serbian authorities about the timing of his transfer which we hope will be expeditious. However we understand that there are number of legal procedures that have to be followed before he can be extradited. Once he is in our custody he will be put into the detention unit and an initial appearance will be scheduled at which he will be expected to enter a plea on each of the accounts of the indictment.
 

18:12 - Mladic's helpers are expected to appear before a Belgrade court on Friday. The court is set to consider the prosecution's appeal against the verdict, according to which the accused were acquitted on charges of helping war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic hide from authorities.

18:02 - Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says that Mladic was arrested in the village of Lazarevo near the northern Serbian town of Zrenjanin during a search of the house at around 5:30am. He says that the house in which he was arrested belonged to Mladic's relatives and that police did not use firearms during the operation.

17:55 - Rasim Ljajic, Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY, says that Mladic had two guns with him during the arrest.

17:49 - 'Mladic - Serbian hero' appears on a signpost at the entrance of the village of Lazarevo near Zrenjanin, where Mladic was arrested.

17:34 - Dragan Todorovic, deputy leader of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, SRS, said he will suggest a protest rally over Mladic's arrest "without delay" to "show our disagreement with this loathsome act".

17:30 - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he is sorry Mladic has been arrested.

According to AP, Karadzic's American lawyer Peter Robinson said Karadzic "looks forward to working with him [Mladic] to bring out the truth about what happened in Bosnia." 

17:29 - More Bosnians welcome the arrest of Mladic (in Bosnian)

17:10 - The Red & Black Alliance, an Albanian nationalist group, reacts to the statement of Serbian President Boris Tadic that a page in Serbia’s history had been closed, regarding the crimes committed during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia.

“Serbia has yet to pay for its crimes, which caused thousands of victims and remains one of the main culprits for the wars in the Balkans,” said the alliance in a statement.

“Tadic should avoid provocative statements and publicly ask for forgiveness from the Albanian people, because there can be no equality between criminals and victims,” the statement added.

16:55 - Milorad Veljovic, Head of Serbian Police, says that security measures in Serbia will be raised.

16:48 - Serbian ultranationalist organisation Nasi 1389 has called on Serbians on its website to take the streets of their cities and protest "the shameful move".

"Serbs need to block every town in which they live! Let all of Serbia and Republika Srpska stand up!," the statement says.

16:39 - Dusan Ignjatovic, Director of the Serbian National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, says that the arrest of Ratko Mladic, former Commander of the Main Headquarters with the Republika Srpska Army, VRS is “an important moment”.

“I can only say that I am glad because we have solved the Mladic issue. I hope that people in Sarajevo will understand that we are serious. Also, I hope that you will realize that, although we sometimes looked confused, our intentions were serious,” Ignjatovic said.

16:28 - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says Thursday was an historic day for international justice. "It marks an important step in our will to end impunity. I thank the Serbian government and president for their efforts."

16:22 - Bosnians praise the arrest of Ratko Mladic (in Bosnian)

16:05 - Mladic is taken to the Special War Crimes Court in Belgrade to be questioned by an investigative judge.

15:59 - Vox Populi: Sarajevans react to Mladic Arrest (in Bosnian)

15:50 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has praised the Serbia's move. "It is very good news and it is a very courageous decision by the Serbian president. It is one more step towards Serbia's integration one day into the European Union."

15:35 - The investigating judge of the Department for War Crimes of the High Court in Belgrade is expected to hold a hearing in the Mladic case later today, Balkan Insight has learned.

15:21 - Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office announces that war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic is still in the custody of Serbian officials and his extradition to the UN war crimes court may take about a week.

"He must be interviewed by an investigative judge, presented with the indictment, and he has the right to appeal to the extradition order," says Bruno Vekaric, a deputy war crimes prosecutor.

14:50 - Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General Council of Europe, says in a statement: "The arrest of Ratko Mladic will help to close a dark chapter in the history of the Balkans. It will open the way for reconciliation in the region, and help all countries to focus on their European future. Therefore this is also good news for the people of Serbia. At the same time, my thoughts today go out to the victims of Srebrenica.”

14:43 - Milos Saljic, lawyer of the Mladic family, says that Mladic's family is in shock over learning that he was arrested. "The family had no information on the arrest until now," Saljic tells news agency Srna.

14:30 - Catherine Ashton, EU's Foreign Policy Chief, welcomes the arrest of Ratko Mladic and requests for him to be "immediately" transferred to the ICTY. 

14:28 - Sir Geoffrey Nice - who prosecuted Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic at The Hague - tells BBC World Service that "there will be a trial, unless of course [Mladic] compromises the matter by some form of plea of guilty".

14:12 - B92 reports Ratko Mladic was not in disguise, he had no beard, looked very old, and did not resist arrest.

14:11 - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen "strongly welcomed" the arrest of Mladic, adding that this will enable justice to be served.

"We strongly welcome the news that Ratko Mladic is arrested and his extradition to The Hague is ongoing," a statement from Rasmussen reads.

13:44 - It is peaceful in front of the Mladic house in Belgrade's Kosutnjak neighbourhood, where his son Darko and wife Bosiljka live, Balkan Insight has seen.

 13:34 - Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, welcomes Mladic's arrest.
                                                          
"I welcome the arrest of Ratko Mladic today in Serbia. We await arrangements for his transfer to The Hague where he will stand trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

13:32 - The European Commission says the arrest represented a clear confirmation that Serbia really wants to make progress on its European path.

"This is a historical move of Serbia in the right direction," Natasha Butler, a spokesperson for the European Enlargement Commissioner said.

13:13pm - Serbian President Boris Tadic confirms that Mladic was arrested in Serbia early on Thursday, and that the extradition process is underway.

 

12:53pm - Balkan Insight has learned from Serbia's Intelligence Agency, BIA, that Mladic is currently being held at the BIA premises in the Banjica neighbourhood in Belgrade.

12:15pm - Balkan Insight receives confirmation from its source within the Serbian government that Mladic has been arrested.

11:31am - Croatian portal Jutarnji.hr has learned from a special unit of the Serbian Interior Ministry that a man called Milorad Komadic, believed to be Ratko Mladic, was arrested earlier in the morning.