Bosnian Croat Extradited to Face War Crimes Trial

Succumbing to international pressure, Croatia on Monday extradited a Bosnian Croat suspected of war crimes for trial before a U.N. tribunal.

Vinko Martinovic boarded a flight to Amsterdam, where he will be handed over to the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia based in The Hague.

The extradition of Martinovic was confirmed by Deputy Justice Minister Snjezana Bagic. Martinovic, also known as Stela, is charged with crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Convention and violations of laws and customs of war. He was indicted by the tribunal in December.

According to a summary of the indictment, he and Mladen Naletilic were responsible for driving tens of thousands of Muslims from Mostar, the scene of some of the most savage fighting during the 3 1/2-year war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The city remains divided between Bosnian Croats and Muslims.

Croatia’s government, which has ceded jurisdiction over war crimes matters to the international court, was recently accused by prosecutors in The Hague of foot-dragging on its assurances that it would extradite Martinovic.

A Zagreb County Court already sentenced Martinovic to eight years in prison for murder in June for his activities while in Bosnia, and the government had insisted that he should serve his time in Croatia.

But last week, the Croatian Supreme Court ruled Martinovic’s case a mistrial due to technicalities and ordered a retrial. Justice Minister Zvonimir Separovic subsequently said that decision opened the way for Martinovic’s extradition.