Bosnia Seeks Arrest of 47 War Crimes Fugitives

The Bosnian state court told BIRN that 47 people accused of committing crimes during the 1992-95 war are being sought for arrest, 25 of whom are outside the country.

Twenty-four of those who are wanted have Serbian citizenship, or dual citizenship of Serbia and Bosnia, according to prosecutors.

Five have Croatian citizenship and nine have dual citizenship of Croatia and Bosnia. Another seven are solely Bosnian citizens, while one is a citizen of Montenegro. No citizenship data is available for the final wanted person.

Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, has repeatedly warned that cross-border cooperation between prosecutors in ex-Yugoslav states to ensure that suspects from the Balkan wars are brought to justice has been deteriorating.

"The unfortunate fact is that the situation is bad, and it has been regressing for a few years - in terms of state prosecution of war criminals and regional cooperation," Brammertz said in October 2018.

Nine people who have been convicted of war crimes are also wanted for arrest.

Among those being sought by the Bosnian authorities are Darko Mrdja, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against the Bosniak population of Prijedor, and Dragan Marjanovic, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for involvement in the killings of civilians near Teslic. Interpol issued international 'red notices' calling for the arrest of both men at the end of 2019.

Dragomir Kenuzovic, who was tried in the same case as Marjanovic and sentenced to 14 years, is also the subject of a warrant, as are Elijah Juric and Jozo Djojic, who were sentenced to six years in prison for wartime crimes in Odzak.

In 2013, the prosecutors' offices...