Trained as apsychiatrist, he co-founded theSerb Democratic Party in Bosnia and Herzegovina and served as 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 ICTY.[3] The indictment concluded there were reasonable grounds for believing he committed war crimes, including genocide againstBosniak andCroat civilians during the Bosnian War (1992–1995).[3] While a fugitive, he worked at a private clinic inBelgrade, specializing inalternative medicine andpsychology, under an alias.[4]
He was arrested in Belgrade in 2008 and brought before Belgrade's War Crimes Court a few days later.[3] Extradited to theNetherlands, he was placed in the custody of the ICTY in theUnited Nations Detention Unit ofScheveningen, where he was charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.[5][6] He is sometimes referred to by the Western media as the "Butcher of Bosnia",[7][8][9] asobriquet also applied to formerArmy of Republika Srpska (VRS) GeneralRatko Mladić.[10][11][12] In 2016, he was found guilty of thegenocide in Srebrenica, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, 10 of the 11 charges in total, and sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment.[13][14] In 2019, an appeal he had filed against his conviction was rejected, and the sentence was increased tolife imprisonment.[15] He is serving his sentence in a British prison,HMP Parkhurst on theIsle of Wight.
His father had been aChetnik – i.e. a member of the rightwinged army of theKingdom of Yugoslavia'sgovernment-in-exile during World War II – and was imprisoned by the post-war communist regime for much of his son's childhood.[21] Karadžić moved toSarajevo in 1960 to study psychiatry at theSarajevo University School of Medicine.[22] In spite of the fact that his father fought in a war, Karadžić himself held no military-orientated ambitions. It is widely believed that he never served his then-obligatory 1-year long military service within the Yugoslav People's Army, as such claim was given byStjepan Kljujić, who was a Croat-member of the Bosnian rotating presidency.[23]
Karadžić studiedneurotic disorders anddepression atNæstved Hospital inDenmark in 1970 and during 1974 and 1975 he underwent further medical training atColumbia University in New York.[9][24] After his return to Yugoslavia, he worked in the Koševo Hospital in Sarajevo.[25] He was also a poet, influenced bySerbian writerDobrica Ćosić, who encouraged him to go into politics. During his spell as an ecologist, he declared that "Bolshevism is bad, but nationalism is even worse".[26]
Financial misdeeds
File picture taken upon Karadžić's arrest in November 1984
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 boosted his income by issuing false medical and psychological evaluations to healthcare workers who wanted early retirement or to criminals who tried to avoid punishment by pleading insanity.[27] In 1983, Karadžić started working at a hospital in theBelgrade suburb ofVoždovac. With his partnerMomčilo Krajišnik, then manager of a mining enterpriseEnergoinvest, he managed to gain a loan from an agricultural-development fund, and they used it to build themselves houses inPale, a Serb town above Sarajevo turned into a ski resort by the government.[27]
On 1 November 1984, the two men were arrested for fraud and spent 11 months in detention before their friendNikola Koljević managed to bail them out.[26][27] Due to a lack of evidence, Karadžić was released and his trial was brought to a halt. The trial was revived, however, and on 26 September 1985 Karadžić was sentenced to three years in prison forembezzlement and fraud. As he had already spent a year in detention, Karadžić did not serve the remaining sentence in prison.[28]
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 inBanja Luka, to exclusively represent the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following month, Bosnian Serbs held areferendum 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,For the organisation and activity of the Serbian 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 loyalist Serbs for the takeover in co-ordination with theYugoslav People's Army (JNA).[29]
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. It 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 theSecond World War genocide" (although how this was established was never specified), and that it was 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 and pro-independenceBosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) andCroats turned out.[30]
Karadžić was votedPresident of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb administration, inPale on about 13 May 1992 after the breakup of theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At the time he assumed this position, hisde jure powers, as described in the constitution of the Bosnian Serb administration, included commanding thearmy 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.[34]
He went toMoscow in 1994 for meetings with Russian officials on the Bosnian situation.[35] In 1994, theGreek Orthodox Church declared Karadžić "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.[36]Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced that "the Serbian people have been chosen by God to protect the western frontiers of Orthodoxy".[36]
On Friday 4 August 1995, with a massive Croatian military forcepoised to attack theSerb-held Krajina region in central Croatia, Karadžić announced he was removing GeneralRatko Mladić from his commandant post and assuming personal command of the VRS himself. Karadžić blamed Mladić for the loss of two key Serb-held towns in western Bosnia that had recentlyfallen 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.[37]
War crimes charges
Karadžić was accused by theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of personal andcommand 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 was accused by the same authority of being responsible for the deaths of more than 7,500 Bosniaks (Muslims). Under his direction and command, Bosnian Serb forces initiated theSiege of Sarajevo. He was accused by the ICTY of ordering theSrebrenica 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 UNsafe area. He was also accused by the ICTY of ordering that United Nations personnel be taken hostage in May–June 1995.[38]
He was jointly indicted by theInternational Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in 1995, along with GeneralRatko Mladić. The indictment charged 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 ofcrimes 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 thelaws of war (Article 3 of the Statute – murder, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, taking hostages);
One count of grave breaches of theGeneva Conventions (Article 2 of the Statute – willful killing).[39]
The United States government offered a $5 million reward for his andRatko Mladić's arrests.[41]
Fugitive
Authorities missed arresting Karadžić in 1995 when he was an invitee of the United Nations. During his visit to theUN headquarters in 1993, he was handed aservice of process for a civil claim under the United States of America'sAlien Tort Act. The Courts ruled that Karadžić was properly served and the trial was allowed to proceed in aUnited States District Court.[42]
Karadžić's ability to evade capture for over a decade increased his esteem among some Bosnian Serbs, despite an alleged deal withRichard Holbrooke.[43] Some sources allege that he received protection from the United States as a consequence of theDayton Agreement.[44] Holbrooke, however, repeatedly denied that such a deal was ever made.[45]
During his time as fugitive he was helped by several people, includingBoško Radonjić and in 2001, hundreds of supporters demonstrated in support of Karadžić in his home town.[46] In March 2003, his mother Jovanka publicly urged him to surrender.[47]
British officials concededmilitary action was unlikely to be successful in bringing Karadžić and other suspects to trial, and that putting political pressure onBalkan governments would be more likely to succeed.[48]
In May 2004, the UN learned that: "the brother of a war crimes suspect allegedly in the process of providing information on Radovan Karadžić 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."[49]
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 2005NATO troops arrested Karadžić's son, Aleksandar, but released him after 10 days.[50] On 28 July, Karadžić's wife, Ljiljana, made a call for him to surrender after what she called "enormous pressure".[51]
The BBC reported that Karadžić had been sighted in 2005 nearFoča: "38 km (24 miles) down the road, on the edge of theSutjeska 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.[52]
Since 20 April 1999[56] Karadžić had been masquerading as a "new age" expert in alternative medicine using the fake name "D.D. David" printed on his business cards. The initials apparently stood for "Dragan Dabić"; officials said he was also using the name "Dr. Dragan David Dabić".[57][58][59] The identity had been provided to Karadžić inRuma byBIA, using details of a local construction worker, the actual Dragan Dabić, born 1942.[60] He lived inNovi Belgrade since at least 2005, working at three private clinics and lecturing in front of hundreds of people onalternative medicine. He had his own website, where he offered his assistance in the treatment ofsexual problems anddisorders by using what he called "Human Quantum Energy".[61] His biography on the website claimed the birthplace ofKovači nearKraljevo and education atLomonosov University. In the late 2000s, he published articles about his practices inZdrav Živothealth magazine, despite him not being a member of the Serbian Medical Association (SLD) and not providing a medical degree or a résumé to the editor-in-chief, to whom Karadžić claimed an upbringing inKrajina. For the first half of 2008, Karadžić attended variousZdrav Život-sponsored health conventions around Belgrade as a guest speaker, some appearances being featured on local television.[60][62][63]
Allegedly evading capture in Austria
There were reports that Karadžić evaded capture in May 2007 inVienna, 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 obtained aCroatian passport in the name of Petar Glumac and claimed to be in Vienna for training.[64] The police did not ask any further questions nor demanded to fingerprint him as he appeared calm and readily answered questions.[65] Nevertheless, this claim came into doubt when a man named Petar Glumac, an alternative medical practitioner fromBanatsko Novo Selo, Serbia, claims to have been the person the police talked with in Vienna.[66] Glumac reportedly bears a striking resemblance to Karadžić's appearance as Dragan Dabić.[67] Dragan Karadžić, his nephew, claimed in an interview to theCorriere della Sera that Karadžić attended football matches ofSerie A and visitedVenice under the name of Petar Glumac.[68]
The arrest of Radovan Karadžić took place on 21 July 2008 inBatajnica, Belgrade[3] although Karadžić's lawyer claimed the arrest occurred earlier on 18 July. He was recorded leaving an apartment onYuri Gagarin Street registered under the name "Maksimović" and boarding a bus bound forVrdnik, from where he planned to cross into Croatia. He later admitted to having several alternate hide-outs around Serbia and that he had switched residences four times within the month. Karadžić stated that he intended to turn himself in sometime in January 2009, as he believed that any legal recourse against him would be handled by the Serbian government rather than international authorities by the end of the year.[60][69][70]
Karadžić was transferred into ICTY custody inThe Hague on 30 July.[71] Karadžić appeared before judgeAlphons Orie on 31 July, in the tribunal, which has sentenced 64 accused since 1993.[72] During the first hearing Radovan Karadžić expressed a fear for his life by saying: "IfHolbrooke 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."[73] 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.[74] He made similar accusations against the former U.S. Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright.[75]Muhamed Sacirbey, Bosnian foreign minister at the time, claimed that a Karadžić-Holbrooke deal was made in July 1996.[76]
In August 2008, Karadžić claimed there is a conspiracy against him and refused to enter a plea, whereupon the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf to all 11 charges.[77] He called thetribunal, chaired by Scottish judgeIain Bonomy, a "court of NATO" disguised as a court of the international community.[78]
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.[79]
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. JudgeO-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.[80] On 5 November 2009, the court imposed a lawyer on him, and postponed his trial until 1 March 2010.[81]
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",[82] 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.[83] The prosecution started its case on 13 April 2010, and completed it on 25 May 2012.[84] The discovery of more than 300 previously unknown bodies in a mass grave at the Tomasica mine nearPrijedor in September 2013 caused a flurry of motions which ended with the court denying reopening prosecutorial evidence.[85] The defence began its case on 16 October 2012 and completed it in March 2014; Karadžić decided not to testify.[86] Closing arguments in the case began on 29 September 2014 and were concluded on 7 October 2014,[87] Karadžić having failed in his demand for a re-trial.[88]
Bosnian genocide trial
Karadžić and Mladić were placed on trial for charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Srebrenica, Prijedor, Ključ, and other districts of Bosnia. They were charged, separately, with:[89]
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.
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 one of the two genocide charges against Karadžić on 27 June 2012.[90][91] However, on 11 July 2013, the Appeals Chamber reinstated these charges.
Conviction and sentence
On 24 March 2016, he was found guilty ofgenocide,war crimes, andcrimes against humanity, and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment.[92] He was found guilty of genocide for theSrebrenica massacre, which aimed to kill "every able-bodied male" in the town and systematically exterminate the Bosnian Muslim community. He was also convicted of persecution, extermination, deportation and forcible transfer (ethnic cleansing), and murder in connection with his campaign to drive Bosnian Muslims and Croats out of villages claimed by Serb forces. He avoided conviction on a second count of genocide in seven Bosnian towns but was found guilty in that case on a reduced charge of extermination.[13]
On 27 February 2018, it was announced by the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals that hearings for the appeal against the conviction were set on 23 April 2018.[93] The appeal was rejected on 20 March 2019, and the sentence was increased tolife imprisonment.[15] On 12 May 2021, it was announced that, with the agreement of the UK authorities, he would serve the rest of his sentence in a UK prison.[94] The incarceration site has since been identified asHMP Isle of Wight,[95][96] and specifically theHMP Parkhurst site.[97]
Poetry
Karadžić published several books of poetry, many of which were published whilst in hiding.
1968:Ludo koplje (Svjetlost, Sarajevo)
1971:Pamtivek (Svjetlost, Sarajevo)
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)
^Gow, James (2003).The Serbian Project and Its Adversaries: A Strategy of War Crimes. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 122–123.ISBN978-1850654995.
^Paul R. Bartrop. (20116).Bosnian Genocide: The Essential Reference Guide, p. 113. ABC-CLIO.ISBN9781440838699.
^"Prosecutor's Marked-up Indictment"(PDF).The Prosecutor v Radovan Karadzic. United Nations. 19 October 2009. ICTY Case No. IT-95-5/18-PT. Retrieved7 June 2011.
^"Prosecutor's Marked-up Indictment"(PDF).The Prosecutor v Radovan Karadzic (2nd amended ed.). United Nations. 1 June 2011. ICTY Case No. IT-09-92-I. Retrieved7 June 2011.
Sterio, Milena. "The Karadzic Genocide Conviction: Inferences, Intent, and the Necessity to Redefine Genocide."Emory Int'l Law Rev. 31 (2016): 271+online
Surdukowski, Jay (2005). "Is Poetry a War Crime: Reckoning for Radovan Karadžić the Poet Warrior".Michigan Journal of International Law.26 (673).SSRN710081.
Radosavljević, Rajna (host) (30 October 2014).Radovan Karadžić(video).Dosije (Documentary). Republika Srpska: ATVBL.(in Serbo-Croatian)
Klarin, Mirko (producer) (2005).Život i priključenije Radovana Karadžića.Dokumentarna produkcija (Documentary). Sense Agency. Archived fromthe original(video) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved14 December 2016.(in Serbo-Croatian)
