Hardline Serbian nationalists demonstrated in support of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic yesterday while his legal team tried to block his extradition to an international tribunal.

The leader of the Bosnian Serbs in the 1992-95 Bosnia war, who is indicted for genocide, was arrested last week in Serbia.

He had been on the run for 11 years, most recently living under an assumed name as a bearded, long-haired alternative healer.

He is now in a Belgrade prison awaiting transfer to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Hardliners see him as a hero and defender of the Serb nation.

Some 10,000 people, many bused in from rural nationalist strongholds, gathered in downtown Belgrade for an evening rally to show their support.

Hundreds of riot policemen were deployed around the capital but the atmosphere was calm.