Ex-Bosnian Army Fighter Appeals to European Court on Extradition
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Almin Dautbegovic, Prijic’s attorney, told BIRN on Thursday that the appeal had been filed and that he is currently filing additional documentation.
A German court in the city of Dortmund decided to extradite Prijic to Italy, as he allegedly committed crimes against Italian citizens during the Bosnian war and there is an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.
The European court will come to a final decision on whether Prijic’s extradition would be a violation of his rights, as he was already sentenced and served his time for killing Italian soldiers during the Bosnian war.
In 2002, Prijic was sentenced to 13 years in prison in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after being found guilty of halting a convoy of Italian nationals on Mount Radovan near Gornji Vakuf. He was convicted for killing several Italians in a nearby forest and stealing from the convoy.
Four months ago, Prijic was arrested in Dortmund, where he was travelling as a tourist. The German authorities arrested him based on an outstanding Italian warrant.
Prijic has been held in extradition detention and the Bosnian authorities cannot request that he be returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In this case we have no legal basis to ask for his extradition, however, we have informed both the German and Italian authorities that Prijic has served his time for this crime,” the Bosnian Ministry of Justice told BIRN.
The court in Dortmund said that it applied the European Convention on Extradition in Prijic’s case, which has been signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and Italy.
