http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/08/27/alleged_bosnian_war_criminal_unlikely_to_face_charges_in_the_hague/
Alleged Bosnian war criminal unlikely to face charges in The Hague
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press | August 27, 2004
BOSTON -- Prosecutors at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands said Friday they will not seek the extradition of a man arrested in Massachusetts who is accused of being an executioner in a Bosnian Serb military unit that killed thousands of Muslims.
Marko Boskic, 40, has been identified as a member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment, a unit that slaughtered some 1,200 men in one of the worst incidents of genocide in Europe since World War II, federal prosecutors said.
He was charged Thursday with lying on applications for refugee and permanent resident alien status in the U.S. by not revealing his complete military history. Prosecutors in Boston said he'd been living in the North Shore city of Peabody and working as a construction worker for the past four years.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague said Friday that Boskic has not been indicted by the court there and it will not seek his extradition.
The tribunal's policy is to try only leading perpetrators of war crimes during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The U.N. court has said it will only bring new cases against a small number of key suspects as it tries to conclude all cases by 2010.
Boskic could still face war crimes charges in domestic courts of the Balkans that are trying lower-level perpetrators.
Boskic was arrested late Wednesday at his condominium in the Tannery Gardens complex near Peabody Square.
In a sworn statement filed in support of the complaint, a federal agent alleged that Boskic is a former member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment, which was involved in the mass killing of Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.
About 7,500 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in the eastern Bosnian enclave during nine days in July 1995, when Serb forces broke through U.N. defense posts around the area, which had been designated a "save haven." The overrunning of the enclave galvanized international action to put an end to the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Boskic was allegedly carrying out the orders of others when he and seven other soldiers gunned down 1,200 men at a farm in Pilica, a village outside Srebenica.
His name came up during the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague. Another member of the unit, Drazen Erdemovic, testified that he and Boskic participated in the massacre, lining up 10 men at a time and mowing them down.
Tribunal prosecutors helped U.S. investigators identify Boskic by providing a videotape in which he was seen with Gen. Radislav Krstic, the only man to be convicted of genocide by the tribunal. Krstic was sentenced to 36 years in prison.
"We assisted the U.S. attorney in the case by establishing the true identity of this person," said Anton Nikiforou of the tribunal prosecutor's office.
Boskic applied for refugee status in the U.S. in 1999 while residing in Frankfurt, Germany. He was admitted to the United States in April 2000 and was issued a Massachusetts driver's license a few months later. In 2001 he applied to become a permanent alien.
In both applications, the agent alleged, Boskic omitted his service in the 10th Sabotage Detachment.
Boskic appeared Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence P. Cohen and voluntarily agreed to remain in federal custody pending trial. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Sept. 23.
If convicted on the immigration charges, Boskic would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He would also face deportation.
"Lying to gain safe harbor in the United States undermines the integrity of our immigration policies and will not be tolerated," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement Thursday.
Alleged Bosnian war criminal unlikely to face charges in The Hague
By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press | August 27, 2004
BOSTON -- Prosecutors at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Netherlands said Friday they will not seek the extradition of a man arrested in Massachusetts who is accused of being an executioner in a Bosnian Serb military unit that killed thousands of Muslims.
Marko Boskic, 40, has been identified as a member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment, a unit that slaughtered some 1,200 men in one of the worst incidents of genocide in Europe since World War II, federal prosecutors said.
He was charged Thursday with lying on applications for refugee and permanent resident alien status in the U.S. by not revealing his complete military history. Prosecutors in Boston said he'd been living in the North Shore city of Peabody and working as a construction worker for the past four years.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague said Friday that Boskic has not been indicted by the court there and it will not seek his extradition.
The tribunal's policy is to try only leading perpetrators of war crimes during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The U.N. court has said it will only bring new cases against a small number of key suspects as it tries to conclude all cases by 2010.
Boskic could still face war crimes charges in domestic courts of the Balkans that are trying lower-level perpetrators.
Boskic was arrested late Wednesday at his condominium in the Tannery Gardens complex near Peabody Square.
In a sworn statement filed in support of the complaint, a federal agent alleged that Boskic is a former member of the 10th Sabotage Detachment, which was involved in the mass killing of Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.
About 7,500 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in the eastern Bosnian enclave during nine days in July 1995, when Serb forces broke through U.N. defense posts around the area, which had been designated a "save haven." The overrunning of the enclave galvanized international action to put an end to the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Boskic was allegedly carrying out the orders of others when he and seven other soldiers gunned down 1,200 men at a farm in Pilica, a village outside Srebenica.
His name came up during the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague. Another member of the unit, Drazen Erdemovic, testified that he and Boskic participated in the massacre, lining up 10 men at a time and mowing them down.
Tribunal prosecutors helped U.S. investigators identify Boskic by providing a videotape in which he was seen with Gen. Radislav Krstic, the only man to be convicted of genocide by the tribunal. Krstic was sentenced to 36 years in prison.
"We assisted the U.S. attorney in the case by establishing the true identity of this person," said Anton Nikiforou of the tribunal prosecutor's office.
Boskic applied for refugee status in the U.S. in 1999 while residing in Frankfurt, Germany. He was admitted to the United States in April 2000 and was issued a Massachusetts driver's license a few months later. In 2001 he applied to become a permanent alien.
In both applications, the agent alleged, Boskic omitted his service in the 10th Sabotage Detachment.
Boskic appeared Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence P. Cohen and voluntarily agreed to remain in federal custody pending trial. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Sept. 23.
If convicted on the immigration charges, Boskic would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He would also face deportation.
"Lying to gain safe harbor in the United States undermines the integrity of our immigration policies and will not be tolerated," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement Thursday.
