Karadzic lawyer to appeal transfer to UN court: report

The lawyer of arrested war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic said Tuesday that he would appeal a judge's decision to transfer the former Bosnian Serb leader to the UN court in The Hague.

"I will lodge the complaint on the last day of the deadline, on Friday. I do not think it will be adopted, but I will disrupt their plans to transfer him today or tomorrow," Beta news agency quoted Vujacic as saying.

Vujacic estimated Karadzic might be transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague (ICTY) "not before the end of next week."

Earlier, Serbia's chief war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said Karadzic would be sent to The Hague once legal obstacles are cleared.

"An examining magistrate, I am aware, has already brought a decision that all conditions have been met for his transfer to The Hague," said Vukcevic.

Although Serbian authorities say Karadzic was arrested late on Monday night, the former Bosnian Serb leader's lawyer said his client had been detained on Friday while travelling in a suburban bus.

After the arrest, his eyes were covered, a hat put on his head and his laptop computer seized, said Vujacic.

"He was taken and kept in a small room for three days and he was not abused," Beta quoted Vujacic as saying.

Karadzic had "long been in Belgrade under a different name, working in a private practice while people who were in contact with him had no clue who he was," said the lawyer.

"He did not have contacts with politicians in Serbia and Republika Srpska (the post-war Bosnian Serb entity), he did not have any security and he lived by himself."

Vujacic added that Karadzic would defend himself before the ICTY, while he and legal expert Kosta Cavoski would be members of his legal advising team.

"Karadzic is in good health and feels well," Vujacic said.

Beta cited Karadzic's brother Luka as saying he had visited the former Bosnian Serb leader and spoken with him for an hour.

He said Karadzic's wife and daughter had permission to visit him, but that international authorities in Bosnia were preventing them from leaving the country.

(Agencies)