Bosnian Serb ex-leader in the Hague

The former President of the Bosnian Serb Republic, Biljana Plavsic, is due to appear shortly before the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague.

The move was confirmed by her lawyer Krstan Simic.

But the Tribunal has refused to comment on whether Mrs Plavsic, who flew to the Hague on Tuesday, has been formally indicted.

Earlier, the Bosnian Serb Justice minister Cedo Vrizina insisted Mrs Plavsic was not guilty of any war crimes.

Mrs Plavsic was a close ally of the indicted former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic but she distanced herself from him after the Bosnian war which ended in 1995.

The American secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, described Mrs Plavsic's decision as courageous.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service