BOSNIA TO FREEZE ASSETS BELONGING TO SERBIAN WAR CRIMINALS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 3,2007) - The Bosnian Defense Ministry will soon decide on the freezing of assets of four Serbian war criminals.

Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz quoted its sources in the Bosnian Defense Ministry that the assets in Bosnia belonging to Serbian war crimials Ratko Mladić, Radovan Karadžić, Stojan Župljanin and Goran Hadžić would soon be frozen.

The appropriate decision will be passed in accordance with the Law on Application of Temporary Measures in Support of Effective Implementation of the Mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), adopted in the first half of 2006, Bosnian daily Dnevni Avaz confirmed.

Providing assistance to the Hague fugitives is regarded as a criminal offence, and war crimes prosecution is entitled to decide on the freeze of the helpers’ assets in the course of the investigation into their actions.

Raffi Gregorian, the international community's principal deputy high representative in Bosnia, visited the home of Ljiljana Zelen-Karadžić,the wife of the Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadžić,and announced that he would personally see to it that Bosnian authorities undertake measures regarding the freeze of assets in Bosnia belonging to Serbian war criminal Radovan Karadžić and other Serbian war criminals still on the run.