LONDON: The so-called “Butcher of Bosnia,” Radovan Karadzic, has arrived at a prison on the Isle of Wight in the UK, where he will spend the rest of his life.
He was flown from the Netherlands to the island off England’s south coast to complete his sentence for war crimes and genocide.
The 75-year-old former politician arrived at Parkhurst jail following a decades-long legal fight to imprison him for his role in orchestrating genocide during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s. In 2016, he was given a 40-year prison sentence.
A UK government spokesperson told Metro newspaper: “We are working to safely manage the transfer of Mr. Karadzic. Promoting and enforcing international justice is central to Britain’s role as a force for good in the world.”
Karadzic was convicted of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that saw 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian-Serb forces.
He was also found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the 44-month siege of Sarajevo, and for directing a campaign of ethnic cleansing that threw Croats and Muslims out of Serb-claimed territories in Bosnia. In 2019, UN judges at The Hague extended his previous jail term to a life sentence.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said earlier this month: “Karadzic is one of the few people to have been found guilty of genocide. He was responsible for the massacre of men, women and children at the Srebrenica genocide, and helped prosecute the siege of Sarajevo with its remorseless attacks on civilians.”
Raab added: “We should take pride in the fact that, from UK support to secure his arrest, to the prison cell he now faces, Britain has supported the 30-year pursuit of justice for these heinous crimes.”
Karadzic was arrested and delivered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in 2008 following almost a decade in hiding.
‘Butcher of Bosnia’ to spend rest of life sentence in UK jail
https://arab.news/99u2b
‘Butcher of Bosnia’ to spend rest of life sentence in UK jail
- Radovan Karadzic oversaw Srebrenica massacre, ethnic cleansing of Muslims
- Foreign secretary: “Britain has supported the 30-year pursuit of justice for these heinous crimes”
Lufthansa adds more flights to Asia, Africa as Middle East war reshapes air travel
- Airlines across Europe have been redirecting capacity after suspending services in the Middle East
- Lufthansa said the move also helps meet demand on long-haul routes that Middle Eastern carriers cannot currently serve
LONDON: Lufthansa said on Friday it was shifting capacity from 10 canceled Middle Eastern destinations to routes such as Singapore and Bangkok as it contends with disruption from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Airlines across Europe, including budget carrier Wizz Air , have been redirecting capacity after suspending services in the Middle East.
Lufthansa said the move also helps meet demand on long-haul routes that Middle Eastern carriers cannot currently serve.
Airline stocks have slumped this week as US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran — and retaliatory strikes by Iran across the Middle East — have disrupted long-haul flights and sent oil prices soaring.
“The war in the Middle East proves once again how exposed air traffic is and how vulnerable it remains,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement. He added the outlook was uncertain, particularly for jet fuel costs.
The schedule changes came as the German group reported better-than-expected 2025 results, saying stricter financial management and fleet renewal had helped contain costs and lift profits. Its shares rose as much as 4 percent, before reversing to trade down 1.2 percent at 1246 GMT.
The company said demand on routes to and from Asia and Africa had risen strongly since the conflict began on Saturday, and it would stick with its focus on expanding long-haul services. Spohr said new flights to Asia would launch in days.
Lufthansa did say how many services it had canceled because of the conflict.
While carriers face costs for rescheduling and rerouting, the biggest impact for those outside the Middle East is expected from surging fuel prices. Brent crude futures have jumped more than 20 percent this week.
Spohr said Lufthansa was well hedged in the short term. The group hedges fuel up to 24 months ahead and was 85 percent hedged as of December 31, according to its annual report.
RESILIENCE
European carriers, including Lufthansa, benefited from slightly lower fuel bills in 2025. Lufthansa’s fuel bill fell 7 percent, helping support earnings as passenger demand stayed firm.
“Last year we were able to significantly increase the Group’s operating profit and achieved the highest revenue in our history. Our results demonstrate the resilience and stability of the Group,” Spohr said.
Lufthansa reported an adjusted operating profit of 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), compared with 1.9 billion euros forecast in a company-compiled analyst poll and up from 1.6 billion euros in 2024. The group also posted an operating margin of 4.9 percent, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier.
Lufthansa aims to lift operating margins to 8 percent-10 percent between 2028 and 2030 from 4.4 percent in 2024, but strikes by workers, including the most recent on February 12, have made it harder to boost profitability.
Bernstein analyst Alex Irving said ongoing weakness in the passenger airline segment persisted, but that strong performances in Cargo and Lufthansa Technik helped lift profits.
The carrier said the outlook for 2026 was unclear due to geopolitical uncertainty. It projected capacity growth of 4 percent, alongside increased revenue and profit margin.
