Phone Call Led Serbs to Wanted Fugitive [Mladic]

AP via Yahoo ^ | 12/27/2005 | DUSAN STOJANOVIC

[Incorrigible]

Phone Call Led Serbs to Wanted Fugitive

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC,
Associated Press

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - A Serbian security official said Tuesday that investigators had located aides to top war crimes fugitive Gen. Ratko Mladic by intercepting one of his cell phone conversations.

As a result, the arrest of the wartime Bosnian Serb military commander "has never been closer," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Serbian war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said last week that authorities had identified a number of people allegedly aiding Mladic — who went into hiding in 2003 — and the wartime Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic. He did not name the supporters.

The security official offered some details Tuesday of how those aides had been found.

"Mladic made a mistake recently by using a mobile phone to make a call to his friend," the official told The Associated Press. "That helped the authorities locate his aides who know where he was hiding."

The interception appears to be the most concrete progress so far in Serbia's hunt for the wanted wartime military commander.

However, Serbian President Boris Tadic said on National Television late Tuesday that the information he has "does not lead me to conclude that we are finally close to solving the (Mladic) problem."

The security officer hinted that the fugitive general could have gone from Serbia to Russia.

"We have asked the Russians to check whether Mladic was there, but we are not getting any response from their security services," he said.

A tapped cell phone conversation recently led to the arrest in the Canary Islands of the top Croatian war crimes fugitive, Ante Gotovina, he noted.

Russian officials declined to comment.

Not for commercial use.  For educational and discussion purposes only.

[Incorrigible]

I wonder if the Serbian government got authorization before doing these illegal phone taps!  Impeach Tadic!

 

A photo dated Dec. 2, 1995, of Bosnian-Serb General Ratko Mladic during a visit of troops in the east Bosnian town of Vlasenica. Top Bosnian war crimes suspect Gen. Ratko Mladic is considering turning himself in to Serbian authorities and is negotiating terms under which he would surrender, a former police official Marko Nicovic was quoted as saying late Sunday, Dec. 25, 2005. The Serbian government has maintained that Mladic's whereabouts remain unknown and that it has no contact with the fugitive. (AP Photo/Oleg Stjepanovic)

 

Here is a related 1994 photo of likely presidential candidate Wesley Clark relishing his time with General Mladic (Note the fun hat sharing games).

 

[Incorrigible]

Balkans Bump

[oilfieldtrash]

War Criminal in whose eyes? Madeline Albright??

He was a Bosnian Serb, and they werent the ones who fired the first shot in Sarajevo, when the bride's father was gunned down at the Serbian wedding reception.

He was protecting his land and heritage if you ask me and if he hadnt done it the Republika of Srpska wouldnt exist and Bosnia would be a totally muslim state run by the likes of Mohammed Sacirby.

[flaglady47]

I hope they never catch either of them. They were defending their country from the Muslim incursions. Good for them.