UN judges: Karadzic has no legal immunity
The Associated Press - December 18, 2008 Thursday

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - U.N. judges have ruled that an immunity deal Radovan Karadzic claims he made with U.S. peace envoy Richard Holbrooke would be invalid, and would not prevent the former Bosnian Serb leader's trial. In a ruling published Thursday, the judges said such a deal "would be invalid under international law."

The ruling "confirms our position," said prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran.

Ruling in Karadzic's favor, however, the judges ordered prosecutors to turn over any copies of agreements, notes or recordings they may have acquired from meetings Holbrooke held with Serb leaders in Belgrade on July 18-19, 1996. Karadzic claims the immunity deal was made at the meetings.

Kavran said prosecutors would not appeal the ruling. She could not immediately say if they had any such documents.

The prosecution already has given Karadzic a copy of a July 18, 1996, agreement in which Karadzic says he will step down from the Bosnian Serb leadership. That document has not been made public.

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