Purda: Compensation Claim to be Filed Soon

Tihomir Purda will likely ask Belgrade for compensation for his arrest on a Serbian warrant and subsequent two-month custody in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN – Justice Report was told by attorney Josip Muselimovic.

Muselimovic said that Tihomir Purda, whom Serbia charged with war crimes committed in Vukovar in 1991, “will most probably not sue Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he will request compensation from Serbia, although the possibility of him suing Bosnia and Herzegovina as well has not been excluded”.

“Within the next 15 days we shall provide the Ministry of Justice with the necessary documents, accompanied by a compensation claim,” Muselimovic said, adding that the fact that there was no grounds for keeping Purda in detention for two months was indisputable.

Muselimovic said that he would decide on the amount to be requested under the compensation claim once all of the documents had been collected.

Purda was arrested at the border-crossing in Orasje, Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 5 this year on a Serbian warrant, and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina subsequently ordered him into custody pending extradition.

Serbia’s War Crimes Prosecutor had issued a warrant for the arrest of Purda on suspicion that he committed war crimes against the wounded and sick in Borovo Naselje, Croatia in November 1991. Purda was suspected of having shot at the wounded and killed at least two soldiers, while the only survivor – sergeant Boban Gacic, died at a hospital in Vukovar later on.

Purda was then released in March this year after the Serbian Prosecutor’s Office gave up on its extradition request and case against Purda.

D.E.