Zdravko Tolimir, 58, is one of the top fugitives sought by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for his alleged role in the Srebrenica massacre.
Gen Mladic has evaded arrest for years. He is wanted for war crimes against Muslim civilians in the 1990s.
Correspondents say Mr Tolimir's arrest, confirmed by the Hague tribunal, could speed up the search for his ex-boss.
He was detained in eastern Bosnia close to the border with Serbia and just a few kilometres from the town of Srebrenica, where up to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in July 1995.
Preparations are being made for his transfer to The Hague.
He was considered the third most important person on the list of those indicted for war crimes by the ICTY, after Gen Mladic and his wartime political leader, Radovan Karadzic.
Both Gen Mladic and Mr Karadzic have been indicted for genocide over the killings in Srebrenica and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, which claimed more than 10,000 lives.
Gen Tolimir was an intelligence officer and senior aide to Gen Mladic at the time of the massacre at Srebrenica, which was carried out by Bosnian Serb soldiers under Gen Mladic's command.
Gen Tolimir is accused of helping to plan and carry out the murders, which have since been internationally recognised as genocide.
With his arrest, only five of the 161 people indicted by the UN tribunal remain at large, including Gen Mladic and Mr Karadzic.
I for one am elated. I believe whole-heartedly in international and transnational justice. International law, for all the arguments about it and the recalcitrance of states, does exist--the problem is getting states to enforce it (fairly). So here we have a great example of a time that it is working. Is it perfect? No. For from it. But I would love to see it expanded, and to see leaders held to account for mass crimes.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6709693.stm
1 comment:
I'm glad that he's been apprihended, and that he will finally be put on trial. But justice will never truly be served for what he's done. The man is a monster, and life in prison is just too good for him. A firing squad would be more to my liking.
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