The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, The Hague

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic sat in a U.N. jail cell Wednesday after being flown to the Netherlands in the dead of night to face charges of genocide against Muslims and Croats during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

His arrival in a white Serbian government jet marked the end of a 13-year effort by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to take custody of its most wanted war criminal. Karadzic is accused or orchestrating the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the sufferings of hundreds of thousands more. The tribunal will "ensure his well being and right to a fair trial as much as possible and in accordance with the highest international standards," spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said in confirming Karadzic's arrival at the detention center outside The Hague.Prosecutors allege Karadzic masterminded atrocities including the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, the deadly siege of Sarajevo, and the detention of tens of thousands of people in 20 concentration camps where many were tortured, starved and sexually abused.

He was expected to be summoned before a judge within a few days and to be asked to enter pleas on each of the 11 counts against him, including genocide, extermination and persecution.

Karadzic's lawyer, Svetozar Vujacic, said his client will postpone entering a formal plea for 30 days, the maximum allowed under court rules. It is likely to be several months before his trial begins, and it could last several years.

Chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz scheduled a news conference for later Wednesday.

Vujacic, speaking from Belgrade, acknowledged he never filed an appeal against Karadzic's extradition from Serbia. The lawyer previously claimed he sent an appeal by registered mail from Bosnia before a midnight deadline on Friday.

The uncertainty over the appeal helped stall Karadzic's handover, Vujacic said.

The tribunal declined to give details of Karadzic's transfer to The Hague, citing security in future cases. But the confirmation of his arrival came shortly after a helicopter landed behind the high wall of the jail while another helicopter hovered overhead. Two black minivans drove through the prison gates moments earlier.

Hours before masked drivers whisked Karadzic to Belgrade's airport early Wednesday, about 15,000 Serb extremists rallied in a main square in the Serbian capital, demanding a halt to the extradition. Several hundred hooligans separated from the group and hurled stones and burning flares at riot police.