The Capture of Radovan Karadzic: Dr. Dragan Dabic No More

The Capture of Radovan Karadzic: Dr. Dragan Dabic No More

The runaway war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic has been arrested after eluding the international court for 12 years.

Karadzic's famous self-regard prevented him from accepting the cautious obscurity most would think appropriate for Europe's most wanted man. Instead, he transformed himself into a striking, long-haired, bearded, mystic healer called "Dr. Dragan Dabic," making appearances at live events, and on local television, and making regular contributions to a magazine called "Healthy Life."

But professional recognition was not enough. He often went to a café around the corner from his home at 5 Yuri Gagarin Street in Novi Belgrade, where he would sit and talk, while photos of him and his former army chief and fellow fugitive Ratko Mladic looked down from the wall. Seemingly unfazed by the presence of this former self, he is said to have entertained fellow customers with folk songs sung to the gusle, a traditional one-stringed Balkan violin. Such was daily life for Dr. Dabic, for the last four years at least -- a far cry from the widely held notion that he was stuck in a grim mountain hideaway in eastern Bosnia or making a furtive tour of orthodox monasteries.

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