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Belgrade: Radovan Karadzic's secret life included a mistress, a bogus family he claimed he left behind in the United States and frequent visits to a Belgrade pub called The Madhouse, acquaintances said yesterday.
The former Bosnian Serb leader - arrested on Monday on UN genocide charges after nearly a decade on the run - had a girlfriend he presented as an associate at the alternative medicine clinic he owned, according to Zoran Pavlovic, who was hired by Karadzic to set up a website for his clinic.
Pavlovic also said he visited Karadzic's apartment in New Belgrade and saw a framed photograph of four boys - all dressed in yellow L.A. Lakers T-shirts - who Karadzic said were grandsons living in America.
Extradition
Misko Kovijanic, who owns the bar in Karadzic's neighbourhood, said Karadzic was a regular who liked to sip red wine in the tavern, which is decorated with photos of Karadzic and fellow war crimes fugitive General Ratko Maldic.
"I'm very proud that he came to my pub, and I'm very sad that he was arrested," Kovijanic said. Karadzic will be handed over to the UN war crimes tribunal sometime in the next week, officials said, and his lawyer said he intends to defend himself there just like his mentor, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Bruno Vekaric, spokesman for Serbia's war crimes prosecutor, said Karadzic's extradition "could be Monday or Tuesday - but it could be earlier, too". "cannot say precisely when," he said yesterday.
Karadzic's lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, says his client will resist extradition.
Vujacic also said Karadzic intends to defend himself during his forthcoming trial at the UN tribunal, with the help of a team of legal advisers, just like Milosevic did.
Bushy beard
Milosevic died in 2006 while on trial in The Hague. "He can't wait to appear before the court," Vujacic told reporters.
Vujacic said Karadzic - who sported a bushy white beard and long grey hair when he was captured - had a shave and a haircut yesterday. "He looks like new, exactly the same, only 14 years older," Vujacic said.
Depending on when he arrives in The Hague, Karadzic is expected to appear next week at a hearing, where he will be asked to enter pleas to the 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Karadzic, who was captured on Monday in Serbia after more than a decade on the run, has 30 days after his transfer to enter the pleas. If he refuses, judges will automatically enter not guilty pleas on his behalf. The arrest of Karadzic, one of world's most-wanted men, was hailed by the US and by European governments.
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