Bosnian Serb genocide suspect freed

Plavsic: Nicknamed the 'Iron Lady of Bosnia'

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic has been released from U.N. detention.

Plavsic, 71, who surrendered voluntarily to the Hague-based United Nations war crimes tribunal in January, was granted permission on August 29 to return to her native Serbia, pending her trial for war crimes.

She left her cell on Thursday morning, drove herself to the airport and flew back to Serbia, where she was greeted by Justice Minister Vladan Batic.

Batic had earlier given guarantees that Plasvic would return to the Hague when summoned for trial, probably in early 2002.

Florence Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.N. tribunal told CNN: "She will still have a trial in The Hague, and she will still serve a sentence if she is found guilty."

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Nicknamed the "Iron lady of Bosnia," and the "Serb Empress," Plavsic was a senior figure in the Bosnian Serb leadership during the civil war of 1992-95.

Although she subsequently fell out with hardline Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, she remains a committed Serb nationalist who opposes the idea of a multi-ethnic Bosnia.

She was indicted by The Hague tribunal on counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for her alleged role in the civil war.

Born in 1930 in Tuzla in northern Bosnia, she studied at Zagreb University where she gained a degree in biology.

After two years studying in the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship she returned to the Balkans where she enjoyed a successful career as a professor of biology at Sarajevo University.

She entered politics in 1990 when she was one of the founding members of Karadzic's Serbian Democratic party.

During the civil war she served as Karadzic's vice president before becoming president of Serbian Bosnia in 1996 after international pressure forced Karadzic from office.

Plasvic is the fourth defendant to be released on her own recognisance since the tribunal was set up in 1993.

The other three suspects have all since returned voluntarily when they were supposed to.

To date Plavsic is the tribunal's only female detainee. She denies all the charges against her.