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Karadzic's appeal deadline looms Karadzic appeal deadline passes
(about 13 hours later)
Bosnian Serb ex-leader Radovan Karadzic has just hours left to appeal against extradition to the Netherlands where he faces genocide and war crimes charges. A deadline for ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to appeal against extradition to the Netherlands on genocide and other charges has expired.
His lawyers have said they will wait until just before the 2000 GMT deadline to lodge the appeal. An appeal notice is said to have been posted by his lawyer just before 2000 (1800 GMT) at an unknown location in Serbia in order to delay the process.
Analysts say Mr Karadzic's extradition to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague is a formality and any appeal will serve only as a delaying tactic. Any appeal is expected to fail and Mr Karadzic is likely to be sent to The Hague within days, correspondents say.
Mr Karadzic was captured on Monday after more than 12 years in hiding.Mr Karadzic was captured on Monday after more than 12 years in hiding.
He had been posing as an expert in alternative medicine, using the name of Dragan Dabic.He had been posing as an expert in alternative medicine, using the name of Dragan Dabic.
Speculation has been rife over the identity of the real Mr Dabic - some reports suggesting he was a slain Serb fighter, others that he was a civilian killed in Bosnia's capital during the war. The real Mr Dabic told the BBC that he had never lost his identity card, which correspondents say raises suspicions that it was cloned by high-ranking Serb officials with access to the country's databases.
THE CHARGES Eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocitiesCharged over shelling Sarajevo during the city's siege, in which some 12,000 civilians diedAllegedly organised the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniak men and youths in SrebrenicaTargeted Bosniak and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionalsUnlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identityDestroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7521119.stm">After Karadzic, is Mladic next? Last possible day
Officials announced on Thursday that the real Mr Dabic is almost certainly a father-of-two living in Ruma, a Serbian town just north of Belgrade. The formal appeal notice against Mr Karadzic's extradition was posted somewhere in Serbia minutes before the official deadline ran out, the BBC understands.
How did he find my name and my surname among 10 million Serbs? Dragan Dabic
His lawyers said earlier they would send the appeal from the remotest post-box they could find at the last possible moment in order to delay the legal process.
"I'll use the legal opportunity to appeal on the last possible day," said Svetozar Vujacic, one of Mr Karadzic's legal team.
Under Serbian law, all Mr Karadzic, 63, needs is proof that the appeal was posted before the deadline and the court must now simply wait for it to arrive, the BBC's Christian Fraser in Belgrade says.
But it is almost certain the appeal will be unsuccessful, our correspondent adds.
Once the court receives the appeal notice from Mr Karadzic, a panel of judges will meet to consider it. If it fails, the case will be handed over to the government, which issues the final extradition order.
Mr Karadzic is accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during the war in Bosnia-Hercegovina from 1992 to 1995.
Masquerading as expert
Speculation has been rife over the identity of the real Mr Dabic.
Serbian officials said a pensioner seemed to be the real Dragan Dabic
Some reports suggested he was a slain Serb fighter, others that he was a civilian killed in Bosnia's capital during the war.
Officials announced on Thursday that the real Mr Dabic is almost certainly a 66-year-old father-of-two living in Ruma, a Serbian town just north of Belgrade.
"Dabic's ID differs from Karadzic's only in the photographs of the two," said Rasim Ljajic, a government official in charge of war crimes."Dabic's ID differs from Karadzic's only in the photographs of the two," said Rasim Ljajic, a government official in charge of war crimes.
Mr Dabic told the Associated Press he had no idea how Mr Karadzic had managed to assume his identity. THE CHARGES Eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocitiesCharged over shelling Sarajevo during the city's siege, in which some 12,000 civilians diedAllegedly organised the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniak men and youths in SrebrenicaTargeted Bosniak and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionalsUnlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identityDestroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/7521119.stm">After Karadzic, is Mladic next?
"Instead of working in the garden, I'm being besieged by reporters and answering telephone calls. This is unfair. Instead of finding out who really cooked this up, I'm being questioned by police," he said. Mr Dabic, a market gardener and pensioner, told the BBC that he had never lost his identity card.
"It's always been with me," he said. "Only the police have access to my ID."
"How did he find my name and my surname among 10 million Serbs?" he asked.
Our correspondent says such a question places suspicion on high-ranking Serbian officials.
After his capture in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, it emerged that Mr Karadzic had been masquerading as an expert in "human quantum energy".After his capture in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, it emerged that Mr Karadzic had been masquerading as an expert in "human quantum energy".
He had a website and gave out business cards during alternative medicine lectures.He had a website and gave out business cards during alternative medicine lectures.
'Tactics'
Mr Karadzic intends to conduct his own defence in The Hague once extradited.Mr Karadzic intends to conduct his own defence in The Hague once extradited.
There is speculation that he intends to drag proceedings out for as long as possible - possibly until 2010, when the court's United Nations mandate runs out.There is speculation that he intends to drag proceedings out for as long as possible - possibly until 2010, when the court's United Nations mandate runs out.
His lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, said on Tuesday she intended to "disrupt" the extradition plans. Mr Karadzic declared independence for Bosnian Serbs in 1991, one of a series of events that led to the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
"I'll use the legal opportunity to appeal on the last possible day," she said.
Mr Karadzic, 63, declared independence for Bosnian Serbs in 1991, one of a series of events that led to the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
He has been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide over the massacre of up to 8,000 mainly-Muslim Bosniaks at Srebrenica in 1995.He has been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide over the massacre of up to 8,000 mainly-Muslim Bosniaks at Srebrenica in 1995.
He has also been charged over the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.He has also been charged over the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.