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Bosnian Serb 'Iron Lady' released | Bosnian Serb 'Iron Lady' released |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic has been freed from prison after serving six years for war crimes. | Former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic has been freed from prison after serving six years for war crimes. |
The UN war crimes court granted her early release for good behaviour from the 11-year sentence it passed in 2003. | The UN war crimes court granted her early release for good behaviour from the 11-year sentence it passed in 2003. |
Plavsic, 79, known as the "Iron Lady", was the highest-ranking official from the former Yugoslavia to have pleaded guilty for her part in the Bosnian War. | Plavsic, 79, known as the "Iron Lady", was the highest-ranking official from the former Yugoslavia to have pleaded guilty for her part in the Bosnian War. |
She left Sweden as soon as she was released from prison there, officials said, and travelled to Belgrade. | She left Sweden as soon as she was released from prison there, officials said, and travelled to Belgrade. |
Plavsic arrived in the Serbian capital, where she has a home, accompanied by Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. | Plavsic arrived in the Serbian capital, where she has a home, accompanied by Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. |
"I am happy to be free after nine years," she told reporters. | "I am happy to be free after nine years," she told reporters. |
She blew a kiss to waving reporters before disappearing through the front door of her house. | |
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Belgrade says that Plavsic's release has prompted a mixed reaction in Serbia. | |
"It's great news, she has right to live because she didn't do anything bad. She only protected her people. Nothing else," one Belgrade resident said. | |
Another one said: "I'm just not happy about it. People like her should be in prison longer than she has been." | |
Some in Serbia worry that Plavsic will now be glorified by the ultra-nationalists for her war time role, our correspondent says. | |
He adds that the government in Belgrade is urging people not to focus on her release, warning that the international community will be watching how Serbs react. | |
Karadzic ally | Karadzic ally |
Plavsic was indicted by The Hague tribunal in 2001 for genocide and other crimes during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. | |
She later pleaded guilty to persecution of non-Serbs in return for all the other charges being dropped and a shortened sentence of 11 years. | |
When plans for Plavsic's early release were announced in September, the president of The Hague tribunal cited good behaviour and "substantial evidence of rehabilitation". | |
During the Bosnian war, Plavsic was known as the "Serbian Iron Lady" because of her hardline nationalism and rabidly anti-Muslim views. | During the Bosnian war, Plavsic was known as the "Serbian Iron Lady" because of her hardline nationalism and rabidly anti-Muslim views. |
She was also one of the closest allies of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, himself accused of war crimes. | She was also one of the closest allies of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, himself accused of war crimes. |
Her release came on the second day of his trial in The Hague, which Mr Karadzic is boycotting. | |
In prison, Plavsic wrote a book describing the events that led up to the Bosnian war. | In prison, Plavsic wrote a book describing the events that led up to the Bosnian war. |
In the book, I Testify, published in 2005, she called on Mr Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic to surrender to the UN court in The Hague. | In the book, I Testify, published in 2005, she called on Mr Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic to surrender to the UN court in The Hague. |
She described Mr Karadzic as a "coward", but Gen Mladic as a "great man" who "should defend the Serb people and his soldiers before The Hague tribunal even at the cost of sacrificing himself". | She described Mr Karadzic as a "coward", but Gen Mladic as a "great man" who "should defend the Serb people and his soldiers before The Hague tribunal even at the cost of sacrificing himself". |
Mr Karadzic was captured in July 2008, but Gen Mladic remains at large. | Mr Karadzic was captured in July 2008, but Gen Mladic remains at large. |