Karadzic to defend himself in war crimes court

BELGRADE, Serbia (CNN) -- Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, who has been indicted on war crimes charges, plans to defend himself in front of a U.N. tribunal, his lawyer said.
The lawyer, Sveta Vujacic, also said he will appeal the ruling allowing Karadzic's transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague.
But Vujacic told CNN Tuesday that Karadzic, 63, will defend himself at the war crimes court.
Karadzic -- one of Europe's most wanted men -- had been sought for more than 12 years before his arrest.
Authorities have said Karadzic was stopped Monday afternoon while he was traveling through the northern part of Belgrade. Vujacic disputed the account, saying the former fugitive was arrested last week and held in secret for three days.
Karadzic was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the law of war -- charges related to the 1992-1995 civil war that followed Bosnia-Herzegovina's secession from Yugoslavia.
After Karadzic was taken into custody, an investigating judge approved his transfer to The Hague.
Serbian officials told CNN they are trying to make the extradition happen as soon as possible, but Vujacic said he is hoping to slow it down. Vujacic, who has three days in which to file the appeal, told CNN he will mail it from a location outside Belgrade so he can put off extradition for as long as he can.
One of the reasons for delaying the appeal is to give Karadzic's wife and family in Bosnia a chance to visit him in Belgrade, Vujacic said.
In January, the high representative in Bosnia seized the travel documents of Karadzic's wife, son, daughter, and son-in-law, saying they threatened the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Vujacic said he hopes the high representative will return their documents so they can travel to Serbia and visit his client. Consultations on the matter are ongoing, said Ljiljana Radetic, spokeswoman for the Office of the High Representative of the European Union.
More details emerged Wednesday about the remarkable life Karadzic managed to lead while a fugitive -- a life that allowed him to hide in plain sight. Watch what's next for Kardzic »
Karadzic changed his appearance, growing a long, white beard and a bushy mustache, and wearing glasses. Authorities said he practiced alternative medicine at a Belgrade clinic, and he even attended public forums on alternative medicine under his alias, Dragan Dabic.
He lived in an apartment in the densely populated area of the capital known as New Belgrade. Neighbors said they noticed him because he was always dressed in black.
"I remember we were sitting there and wondering and talking about his appearance," said Rusica, a neighbor. "He was strange because of his white beard and long hair."
Not even his landlords knew who Karadzic was, Serb officials said.
Authorities said they found Karadzic while following people believed to be part of a network that protected him.
His lawyer said Wednesday that Karadzic had asked for a barber to come to the detention center where he is now being held to remove his beard and trim his hair, AP reported.
Karadzic liked to frequent a cafe down the street from his apartment called the Crazy House, where the owner said Karadzic often drank his favorite red wine and listened to Serb national songs. Follow a timeline on Karadzic »
Pictures of Karadzic as he used to look -- clean-shaven, with thick salt-and-pepper hair -- and his wartime commander, Ratko Mladic, are on prominent display at the cafe.
Owner Tomas Kovijanic admits not knowing the actual Karadzic was sitting in the same cafe -- but he admits he would have protected the former Bosnian Serb leader had he known.
"I would have protected him by all means," Kovijanic said. "He was a hero who protected Serbs."
The editor of a health magazine who organized the forums that Karadzic attended said he met the man, alias Dabic, last October. He said he thought the fugitive's medical credentials were strange, showing that he was educated in Russia with brief travels to Asia, but he found Karadzic convincing.
"His body language was calm," said Goran Kojic, editor of Healthy Living magazine. "Then he would get theatrical and moved his hands a lot. He was very good with the crowds. He knew how to engage people, how to keep their attention.
"I can say without any doubt he was one the best speakers I ever hired for our lectures," Kojic said.
Karadzic's arrest leaves Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander, as the top-ranking war crimes suspect still at large.
Karadzic, a one-time psychiatrist and self-styled poet, declared himself president of a Bosnian Serb republic when Bosnia-Herzegovina seceded from Yugoslavia in 1992.
The Bosnian Serbs, backed by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav military and paramilitary forces, quickly seized control of most of the country and laid siege to Sarajevo, the capital.
During the conflict that followed, the Serb forces launched what they called the "ethnic cleansing" of the territories under their control -- the forced displacement and killings of Muslims and Croats.
He was removed from power in 1995, when the Dayton Accords that ended the Bosnian war barred anyone accused of war crimes from holding office