War criminal Radovan Karadzic is imprisoned on a small island off the south coast of England, it was reported on Saturday.
The 75-year-old Bosnian Serb is serving a life sentence in Parkhurst prison on the Isle of Wight following a flight from the Netherlands on Wednesday, according to the Daily Mail.
In 2016 he was convicted of a number of atrocities, including the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims, the worst genocide in Europe since the Second World War.
Karadzic's daughter said that the conditions in which her father is being held were "unacceptable".
"My father is in a very uncivilised situation, and as far as his family is concerned, his relocation to the south of England was deliberately made to keep him far away, outside the rules of the United Nations resolution adopted by the Security Council," Sonja Karadzic-Jovicevic told Bosnian news agency SRNA.
"It will be very difficult for us physically, financially and procedurally, because of visas, and immunisation during the pandemic, and even after that, to ever go there and visit him."
Contrary to her claims, reports suggested that Parkhurst was chosen because of its low number of Muslim inmates, putting Karadzic less at risk of attack.
“Karadzic is one of the few people to have been found guilty of genocide," said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
“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.
"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, nicknamed the Butcher of Bosnia by the western media, joins a roster of infamous British criminals to have been incarcerated in the Isle of Wight jail.
East London gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, and Moors Murderer Ian Brady, now all deceased, were kept there.
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
