Bosnian war crimes suspects arrested in the Netherlands

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

War criminals arrested in the Netherlands

Thursday, May 8th, 2014, 12:06 (Update: 08-05-14, 12:43)

Two men suspected of war crimes in the Balkans have been arrested in Spijkenisse and Heumen. The Public Prosecutor reports this.

The two were arrested at the request of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 1990s, they are said to have committed war crimes against the civilian population.

Torture

The 43-year-old man from Spijkenisse has Bosnian citizenship. He is said to have been involved in murder, torture and psychological and physical violence against civilians.

The man served in the Bosnian-Croat army. According to the extradition request, he was camp commander in June 1992 in the Derventa region. There, civilians with Serbian backgrounds were held captive in a school.

A prisoner, said to have been accused of an attempted escape by the camp commander, was shot dead with an automatic weapon. Prisoners were beaten with rifle butts, their teeth were kicked out of their mouths and cigarettes were extinguished on their bodies.

Heumen

The man from Heumen is 52 years old and has both the Bosnian and Dutch nationality. He is said to have committed war crimes in 1992, as a member of an armed group during the Balkan war.

With other armed men, he is believed to be responsible for the death of an inhabitant of the Bosnian village Beslagici.