Serbian General Was Paid To Surrender To UN Court

20 July 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The Serbian government says it paid 500,000 euros ($600,000) to a general indicted for war crimes committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict in exchange for his voluntary surrender to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

A Finance Ministry statement said today the payment was approved on 3 February, the same day General Vladimir Lazarevic surrendered to the UN tribunal.

Some 14 Serbian and Bosnian Serb war crime suspects have surrendered to the tribunal since October under the Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica government's cooperation strategy.

(with additional AFP reporting)