Yugoslavia unveils extradition law

Mr Milosevic shortly before his fall from power

Yugoslav officials have given details of the draft law on extraditing suspected war criminals - including the former president, Slobodan Milosevic - to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

Under the law, requests for extradition would be handled by Yugoslav courts.

Radovan Karadzic is one of 38 suspected Yugoslav war criminals still at large

The suspects would also have the right to have their case reviewed locally if the courts agreed to the extradition.

The Yugoslav parliament is expected to discuss the bill later this week.

The draft law comes as a response to international demands for Yugoslav co-operation with the tribunal.

Current Yugoslav laws do not allow the extradition of suspects abroad.

The war crimes tribunal revealed on Wednesday that there are 12 sealed or secret indictments against alleged perpetrators of Balkan atrocities.

Wanted for war crimes - fugitive Ratko Mladic

The names of the accused and details of the indictments have not been not released.

As a matter of course, sealed indictments are not made public until arrests are made, to avoid tipping off the suspect.

The 12 newly announced arrest warrants are in addition to 26 individuals publicly indicted and who are still at large.

Prosecution spokeswoman Florence Hartmann said that out of the total 38 suspects walking free, 26 are in the Serb part of Bosnia - Republika Srpska - and 12 are in Yugoslavia.

Arrest

She did not reveal their ethnic backgrounds.

Mr Milosevic was arrested in Belgrade on 1 April on suspicion of abuse of power during his 13 years in office.

The government has repeatedly pledged to try him at home on a series of charges, including war crimes.

Mr Milosevic, along with four aides, was indicted by the UN court in 1999 for atrocities committed by Serb troops in Kosovo.

Several other Serb war crimes fugitives are also believed to be in Yugoslavia or neighbouring Bosnia, including former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and their wartime military commander, General Ratko Mladic.