In an article, published on August 6, Charles Ingrao, a US history professor heading a documentation group on the Balkan wars, is quoted by Balkan Insight as saying that he had information from four independent sources in the US state department confirming the existence of a deal between Holbrooke and Karadzic.

Ingrao said he could not reveal the identity of his sources "since they are still very active and would, in some cases, suffer professionally.”

“A top state department official with intimate knowledge of [former US Envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina Richard] Holbrooke’s activities has confirmed that Holbrooke explicitly assured Karadzic that he would not be arrested, a concession known to several others at the state department who have remained silent,” Balkan Insight quoted Ingrao as saying.

“It was the Pentagon, backed by [then President Bill] Clinton, that presented Holbrooke with a ‘fait accompli’ that US forces would not seize International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia (ICTY) indictees,” Ingrao is quoted as saying.

Ingrao was quoted as saying that Holbrooke had been given no option but to offer key concessions to Karadzic regarding his future liberty.

Balkan Insight quoted Ingrao as saying that Holbrooke “promised Karadzic he would not be arrested if he withdrew from politics”.

In a letter presented to the ICTY at his first hearing, Karadzic claimed an agreement with Holbrooke was reached in 1996.

The deal was first reported by Bosian weekly Slobodna Bosna, which cited Aleksa Buha, foreign minister in Karadzic's government and his successor as head of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) as its source.

Holbrooke has repeatedly denied the existence of the agreement.

The ICTY prosecution announced on August 5 that it would ignore the letter on formal grounds, unless the trial chamber would order otherwise. Prosecution said the letter had not been submitted according to court rules.