War criminal suspect Radovan Karadzic will reportedly appear before the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Thursday. This will be just a preliminary appearance before the tribunal and he will be asked to enter a plea to the charges brought against him.

The court appearance of the former Bosnian Serb leader accused of genocide for his actions in the 1992-95 Bosnia war was scheduled at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. British time) on Thursday before Judge Alphons Orie, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said in a statement today

Karadzic was taken by plane today from Serbia to the Netherlands. The 63-year-old former politic leader who has been hiding for the past 13 years stands accused along with Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic of atrocities against Muslims and Croats during the 1992-95 Bosnia conflict. As much as 250,000 people were killed and about 1.8 million fled their home lands fearing they will be killed.

Karadzic’s capture, arrest and indictment are one of the main conditions set by the European Union governments for Serbia to begin negotiations to become a member of the union. UN prosecutors, in front with Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz, praised the Serb authorities for finally apprehending the so-called "Butcher of Bosnia."

Karadzic faces trial over two of the most dreadful episodes of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war - the 44-month siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre. For his deeds he now faces charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, willful killing, persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, terror against civilians and hostage-taking.

“It's a major achievement for the cooperation of Serbia with the tribunal,'' said Brammertz.

Karadzic was detained by Serbian agents on July 21 in Belgrade before being handed over to the Special War Crimes Court.