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Karadzic Wife Sues Over NATO Raid

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Nick Hawton

BBC
February 7, 2004

The wife of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is to sue Nato.

The legal action follows a failed attempt by Nato peacekeepers last month to arrest her husband, who has been on the run for eight years. Ljiljana Zelen-Karadzic says Nato-led troops had caused more than $20,000 of damage to two properties and furniture owned by the family. Mr Karadzic has been charged with genocide by the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. "I am disillusioned," the Karadzics' daughter, Sonja, told BBC News Online. "We must be the only family in the world that this could have happened to without there being any consequences for those who carried it out."

'Missing items'

In last month's raid, the biggest Nato-led operation in 18 months, hundreds of troops were deployed in the mountain town of Pale after intelligence was received that the former Bosnian Serb leader was in the area. Several properties belonging to the Karadzic family were raided but their target was not found. A religious icon was also allegedly damaged and other items went missing. A spokesman for Nato said he could not comment on the allegations, saying it was now a "legal matter". A separate complaint is also being compiled by the Bosnian Serb police who claim two of their officers were used as human shields during the operation. According to a police spokesman in Pale, Nato troops forced two officers to walk in front of them as they raided one of the Karadzic houses - apparently in case they came under fire. The legal action by Mrs Karadzic is yet another embarrassment for Nato in its long-standing attempts to arrest Radovan Karadzic. In less than 2 years, Nato has carried out four operations to arrest him. All of them have failed.

More Information on International Justice
More Information on Radavan Karadzic

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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.