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Bosnian Serb war criminal recaptured after years on the run

By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 6:33 AM EST, Sun January 22, 2012
Radovan Stankovic, a Bosnian Serb ex-paramilitary seen here in a July 2002 file photo, escaped from a Bosnian prison in 2007.
Radovan Stankovic, a Bosnian Serb ex-paramilitary seen here in a July 2002 file photo, escaped from a Bosnian prison in 2007.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Radovan Stankovic was convicted in Bosnia in November 2006
  • He escapes from a Bosnian prison in May 2007
  • Stankovic is captured in Foca, the same town he escaped from jail

(CNN) -- Bosnian police have recaptured a former member of Serb paramilitary forces who escaped from prison nearly five years ago, authorities said.

Radovan Stankovic was convicted in Bosnia in November 2006 for crimes against humanity, including rape, sexual assault and enslavement of women and young girls during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

He escaped from a Bosnian prison in May 2007.

"Today's apprehension of Stankovic significant for the victims of the grave crimes he has been convicted for," the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in a statement Saturday.

"I hope that this arrest reflects an increased commitment of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to support the process of bringing to justice those responsible for the grave crimes committed on their territory in the early 1990s."

Stankovic was captured in Foca, the same town he escaped from jail.

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