Serb war crimes suspect says arrest violated rights
Mon Jun 4, 2007 12:06PM EDT
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb General Zdravko Tolimir declined to
enter a plea to genocide charges on Monday and told the U.N. war crimes
tribunal the nature of his arrest and transfer to the Hague last week violated
his rights.
Tolimir, an aide to the tribunal's most wanted man, Bosnian Serb wartime
commander Ratko Mladic, was arrested last week on the border between Serbia and
Bosnia's Serb Republic and transferred to The Hague on Friday, in a move which
saw Belgrade praised by the European Union for cooperation with the court.
The former general, dressed in a dark suit and tie, and appearing gaunt told
the court: "I was arrested in the territory of Serbia, whose citizen I am, and
I was transferred to the territory of (Bosnia's Serb Republic) ... without the
presence of a lawyer."
He said he was taken to various locations in Bosnia where he was filmed, and
interviewed by government officials who offered him inducements to say he was a
citizen of Bosnia.
Tolimir is charged with two counts of genocide for his role in the 1995
massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica during the 1992-95 war, as well
as charges of extermination, persecution and inhumane acts.
He told the court he had suffered three strokes and lost around 30 kilos.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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