Ante Gotovina in 2000 (epa)
8 December 2005 -- The chief United Nations war crimes prosecutor says fugitive Croatian war crimes suspect Ante Gotovina has been arrested in Spain.
Carla Del Ponte made the announcement today in Belgrade. She said Gotovina, a former general, is in detention. He was arrested last night in the Canary Islands off near the west African coast. Del Ponte says Gotovina is scheduled to be transferred to The Hague.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking in Brussels moments after the announcement, hailed the arrest: "The arrest of Gotovina is good news for the world. It is good news for bringing people to justice who are not yet convicted but who are accused of very serious crimes, the most serious crimes. That's good news, and I think indeed it is also good news for Croatia."
Gotovina is No. 3 on the Hague court's most-wanted list. The UN court accuses Gotovina of allegedly planning the killing of around 150 Serbs and the expulsion of thousands others during the 1991-95 Serbo-Croat war.
(Reuters/AP/AFP)
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking in Brussels moments after the announcement, hailed the arrest: "The arrest of Gotovina is good news for the world. It is good news for bringing people to justice who are not yet convicted but who are accused of very serious crimes, the most serious crimes. That's good news, and I think indeed it is also good news for Croatia."
Gotovina is No. 3 on the Hague court's most-wanted list. The UN court accuses Gotovina of allegedly planning the killing of around 150 Serbs and the expulsion of thousands others during the 1991-95 Serbo-Croat war.
(Reuters/AP/AFP)
RFE/RL Balkan Report
RFE/RL Balkan Report