Salon.com > Dusan Stojanovic

Weird news: Vampire on the loose in Serbia

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:28:00 +0000

ZAROZJE, Serbia — Get your garlic, crosses and stakes ready: a bloodsucking vampire is on the loose.

Or so say villagers in the tiny western Serbian hamlet of Zarozje, nestled between lush green mountain slopes and spooky thick forests. They say rumors that a legendary vampire ghost has awakened are spreading fear - and a potential tourist opportunity - through the remote village.

A local council warned villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms to ward off vampires, although it appeared designed more to attract visitors to the impoverished region bordering Bosnia.

Many of the villagers are aware that Sava Savanovic, Serbia's most famous vampire, is a fairy tale. Still, they say, better to take it seriously than risk succumbing to the vampire's fangs.

"The story of Sava Savanovic is a legend, but strange things did occur in these parts back in the old days," said 55-year-old housewife Milka Prokic, holding a string of garlic in one hand and a large wooden stake in another, as an appropriately moody mist rose above the surrounding hills. "We have inherited this legend from our ancestors, and we keep it alive for the younger generations."

Mladic appeal on U.N. court extradition rejected

Tue, 31 May 2011 13:33:23 +0000

Judges have rejected an appeal by war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic seeking to stop his extradition to a U.N. tribunal, Serbia's chief war crimes prosecutor said Tuesday, paving the way for his quick hand-over to face charges for the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.

The former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague, Netherlands "as soon as possible," Vladimir Vukcevic told The Associated Press. The Belgrade court made the decision just hours after it said it received the appeal in the mail arguing the 69-year-old is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial.

Serbian Justice Minister Snezana Malovic has scheduled a press conference for 5 p.m. (1500 GMT; 11 a.m. EDT) Tuesday at which she is expected to announce she signed the extradition order.

Asked if this means that the transfer will happen on Tuesday, Vukcevic said "not necessarily."

"It will depend on the evaluation on how this should be done so as not to disturb the public," he said, adding no one will be informed when Mladic will be transported from prison and flown to the Netherlands because of security risks.

Mladic could be extradited early next week

Fri, 27 May 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Ratko Mladic is eating strawberries and receiving family visits in a Serbian jail, but as early as Monday the ex-general could be on his way to face a war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, possibly joining his former ally Radovan Karadzic on trial for some of the worst horrors of the Balkan wars.

The former Bosnian Serb army commander known for his cruelty and arrogance began issuing demands from behind bars Friday, calling for a TV set and Tolstoy novels, and regaining some of his trademark hubris after a pre-dawn raid in a Serbian village the day before ended his 16 years on the run.

Now a disheveled old man, his family claim he's too ill to stand up to the rigors of a genocide trial and that he's not guilty of crimes including his alleged role in the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II, the massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Srebrenica enclave in Bosnia dead.

Serbia's war crimes court ruled that te 69-year-old is fit to stand trial and that conditions have been met for him to be handed over to the U.N. tribunal in The Hague. A defense lawyer said Mladic would appeal the decision on Monday. The former fugitive could be extradited within hours if that appeal is rejected.

General Ratko Mladic arrested in Serbia

Thu, 26 May 2011 11:17:00 +0000

Gen. Ratko Mladic, Europe's most wanted war crimes fugitive, has been arrested in Serbia, the country's president said Thursday.

Mladic has been on the run since 1995 when he was indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for genocide in the slaughter of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica and other crimes committed by his troops during Bosnia's 1992-95 war.

"On behalf of the Republic of Serbia we announce that Ratko Mladic has been arrested," Boris Tadic told reporters. He said the arest was made by the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency.

Mladic will be extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal, he said. He did not specify when, but said "an extradition process is under way."

"We ended a difficult period of our history and removed the stain from the face of the members of our nation wherever they live," he said.

Serbia has been under intense pressure to make the arrest, with the chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, complaining earlier this month that authorities were not doing enough to capture him and other war crimes fugitives.

Brammertz was scheduled to report next month to the U.N. Security Council about the Balkan country's efforts.