Karadzic extradited to U.N. war crimes tribunal

BELGRADE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was being extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the Serbian official news agency Tanjug reported early on Wednesday.

A motorcade of four jeeps with tinted windows was seen leaving the downtown Belgrade District Court at about 3:45 a.m. (0145 GMT)early Wednesday where Karadzic was held since his arrest July 21, said the reports, adding that Karadzic was taken from detention to the Belgrade airport to board a plane for the Netherlands.

The 63-year-old Karadzic was indicted for genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnian war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The decision on Karadzic's transfer was signed by Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic, in accordance with Serbia's law on cooperation with the ICTY, Serbia's Beta news agency said.

Karadzic, seen as a hero by Serb nationalists in Bosnia and Serbia, had been kept in a Belgrade prison while his legal team had been fighting a legal battle against his transfer to the ICTY.

The Belgrade District Court's spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the court received no appeal against the extradition of Karadzic to the ICTY by the end of office hours on Tuesday.