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Australia extradites Serb over war crime charges

July 8, 2015

After nearly a decade of appeals, a former Serbian soldier has been extradited from Australia to face war crimes charges. The man is accused of killing and torturing civilians in the 1990s Balkan war.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Fv7v
Dragan Vasiljkovic
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Z. Sinko

Dragan Vasiljkovic, a former rebel Serb commander during the Balkan war, was handed over to Croatian authorities by Australian officials on Wednesday for extradition to Croatia. The extradition comes after a court battle that stretches back nearly ten years.

The charges and extradition request brought by Croatian authorities date back to 2006. Vasiljkovic, a dual Serbian-Australian citizen who was born in Belgrade, is accused of killing and torturing civilians during the Balkan war as a Serbian soldier. He had moved to Australia and has admitted he returned to Serbia to serve in the Serbian military, but denies he committed war crimes.

In an interview in 2005 with "The Australian" newspaper, Vasiljkovic said, "I won't say I'm perfect because nobody is perfect ... but I'm sure I never killed a civilian, I'm sure I never killed a prisoner, I'm sure I never killed anybody that didn't have to be killed."

Dragan Vasiljkovic
Vasiljkovic in 1991 during the warImage: picture-alliance/dpa

Vasiljkovic challenged his extradition 13 times in court and was ultimately unsuccessful, leading to his handover to Croatian authorities in Australia.

He is expected to arrive in Croatia on Thursday, where the charges he faces carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Vasiljkovic is the first accused war criminal to be successfully extradited by Australia.

Vasiljkovic's extradition comes during the week that marks 20 years since the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 during the Balkan war.

mz/kms (AFP, AP, dpa)