A Serbian government plane on Friday took off from Belgrade airport carrying the war crime suspect Goran Hadzic to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, DPA reported.
Live TV reports showed a column of cars arriving at the airport, and going directly to the runway. The plane lifted off moments later and was expected to land in Rotterdam about two hours later.
Justice Minister Snezama Malovic was due to hold a press conference and formally announce that the transfer of Hadzic to the International Crminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was underway.
Hadzic, 52, was a rebel Serb leader in Croatia in the 1991-95 war. He was arrested Wednesday after seven years on the run.