Milosevic security chief flies to Hague

Stanisic was one of the most feared men in the former Yugoslavia

The former head of Serbia's secret police under Slobodan Milosevic has arrived in the Netherlands to face war crimes charges including the massacre of 200 hospital patients.

Jovica Stanisic, who was arrested in Serbia in March, secretly boarded a commercial flight from Belgrade to Amsterdam on Wednesday.

The BBC's Alix Kroeger in The Hague says Mr Stanisic was one of the most powerful and most feared men in the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Stanisic and his former deputy, Franko Simatovic, are accused of crimes against humanity committed during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia.

Their names have also come up on several occasions during Mr Milosevic's trial, and both men could be crucial to convicting the former Yugoslav president.

Mr Simatovic, who is already on trial in The Hague, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and Mr Stanisic has also denied them.

Health problems

Both men were arrested in connection with the 12 March assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

Simatovic has already pleaded not guilty

While they were in detention, the war crimes tribunal unsealed its indictments against them.

Mr Simatovic said he would not fight against his extradition, and was handed over on 30 May.

Mr Stanisic also agreed to go, but his departure was delayed while he underwent colon surgery.

At one point it was not clear whether he would survive the operation.

Lawyer Vladan Vukcevic, who is travelling with him to The Hague, said he still needed to recover from his illness.

"Stanisic's health is stable now," he said. He'll first recover from what was going on during the last three months and then we'll focus on preparing the defence."

Vukovar massacre

Mr Stanisic has been described as Mr Milosevic's most trusted associate since he rose to power in the late 1980s.

He is said to have sent Serbian paramilitaries to fight alongside local ethnic Serbs in Bosnia and Croatia in the wars between 1991 and 1995.

The units are alleged to have been involved in ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs.

Among atrocities detailed in the indictment against Mr Stanisic is a massacre of more than 200 hospital patients during the siege of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991.

Mr Stanisic was sacked by Mr Milosevic in October 1998, reportedly because of disagreements over the president's repressive policy towards ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.