The nephew of Radovan Karadzic confessed yesterday to being the former Bosnian Serb leader's main helper in setting up his new life as an alternative healer, as it was confirmed that the war crimes suspect has appealed against extradition to The Hague.

Dragan Karadzic, the 30-year-old son of Dr Karadzic's brother, Luka, said that he had rented apartments and channelled money to his uncle over the past six years, adding that he did not care about the two-year jail sentence that he faces for helping a war crimes suspect.

Luka Karadzic said yesterday that his brother had appealed, breaking the media blackout imposed on the subject by the family lawyer, who had vowed to post the document in a remote part of Serbia in an attempt to delay the extradition. It is now expected to take place on Wednesday or Thursday.

“For me he is my dear uncle, not some Hague fugitive,” said an unrepentant Dragan Karadzic after disclosing his role. “Blood is thicker than water. They can arrest me if they like. I would do the same again because he is my uncle and I will always guard him.”

Dragan Karadzic said that he communicated only by text message using a pay-as-you-go phone as he arranged supplies for the man accused of orchestrating the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica, as well as the protracted siege of Sarajevo.

“We mostly communicated with text messages. He would let me know what he needed and I took care of it. I was supplying him with food, newspapers and information about his family,” said Mr Karadzic.

“Of course, I knew I was followed but I am proud of myself. I was extremely careful to avoid those tailing me, changing taxis two or three times to get to Radovan.” Mr Karadzic refuses to believe that it was he who finally led Serb agents to Dr Karadzic, either directly or through an intercepted phone call.

He spoke out after Mila Damjanov, his uncle's close female companion during the past eight months, blew his cover by revealing that she had seen the young man at lectures given by the New Age guru who she knew only in his assumed identity as Dragan Dabic.

Dr Karadzic adopted the persona of a heavily bearded New Age healer after returning to live in Belgrade in late 2005 or early 2006.

Despite claims that Ms Damjanov had become the mistress of “Dr Dabic”, after being seen hand-in-hand with him, his nephew insisted that she was just his friend and pupil.

“I met his associate Mila,” he said in an interview with the Novosti newspaper. “I am sorry for what happened to her. She was only his friend. She never visited his flat. He thought only about his family. He planted plants in his room and gave names to them. One was called Ljiljana after his wife.” Mr Karadzic said that his uncle was convinced that his new identity would protect him.

“He chose this character because he was very interested in alternative medicine. It gave him some joy and made some sense of his lonely life.”

Serbia's new Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetkovic, suggested that there could be more arrests soon. Two suspects remain at large: Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general at the time of the Srebrenica massacre; and Goran Hadzic, former President of the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina.

Bosnian Serbs expressed their support for Dr Karadzic and his family with a candlelight march and prayers as Orthodox churches held special Masses for the suspected war criminal.

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