Croatia Hands Over Bosnia War Crimes Suspect

After delaying more than two years, Croatia handed over a prominent Bosnian Croat war crimes suspect to the U.N. tribunal Tuesday to face charges for atrocities allegedly committed against Muslims during the Bosnian war.

Mladen Naletilic was indicted on 17 counts of war crimes for his alleged role as commander of a gang of convicts who terrorized Muslims in southwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993 and 1994 in a campaign to drive non-Croats from the area.

Although Naletilic was indicted in December 1998, the government of late President Franjo Tudjman stalled on handing him over, first citing jurisdictional issues and later the defendant’s health.

It was widely assumed, however, that the former administration feared that Naletilic, known by his nickname Tuta, could implicate senior Croatian government figures in the atrocities.

Last year, the tribunal complained of Croatian intransigence to the U.N. Security Council, which raised the threat of sanctions against Croatia. Under intense pressure, Croatia agreed last year to hand over Naletilic.

His extradition, however, was suspended because he was said to be suffering from severe heart trouble.

However, the death of Tudjman in December and parliamentary elections the following month brought to power a new center-left government that promised full cooperation with the tribunal and other Western institutions.

Naletilic’s extradition was seen as a test case of the new government’s commitment.

Naletilic was flown to The Hague aboard a special plane with a full medical staff, including his personal psychiatrist, Croatian officials said.