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Naser Oric, who was arrested in Switzerland on Wednesday as per an Interpol warrant, is due to appear before a Swiss prosecutor. Bosnian institutions still haven’t been informed as to the reason of his arrest.
Defense attorney Vasvija Vidovic said she still didn’t know why Oric had been arrested. Vidovic said Oric was being examined by a prosecutor, who would then provide him with information on his arrest.
Vidovic said she hadn’t contacted her client, but had recruited attorneys in Switzerland to represent him.
The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Switzerland told BIRN Justice Report that the Swiss Ministry of Justice and police authorities were meeting to discuss the arrest and that additional information would be obtained after the meeting.
Neither Interpol in Sarajevo nor the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina have received an official note on the arrest.
“The Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina requested information on the reasons of the arrest of this person via Interpol, but the Swiss authorities still haven’t sent us any response,” Marina Bakic, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice, said.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that a warrant that had been issued against Oric at the beginning of last year had been withdrawn and as such, no Interpol member states could detain Oric under the terms of the warrant.
“The General Secretariat of Interpol requested that all other Interpol member states delete all the information entered into their national databases on the basis of those warrants, and reminded them that further collaboration in those cases could not be done through Interpol channels, because it would not be in line with the regulations and Interpol’s statute,” the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies said to BIRN Justice Report.
Oric’s Interpol warrant was issued as per a request by Serbia. The Serbian Justice Ministry was unable to confirm whether they would request Oric’s extradition and on the basis of which warrant he had been arrested.
Oric was arrested while travelling to the commemoration of the 20 year anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Oric was accompanied by Camil Durakovic, the mayor of the municipality of Srebrenica, who confirmed he was searched just like Oric.
The Serbian prosecution confirmed yesterday that Oric had been arrested as per its warrant and that he was suspected of war crimes committed in the village of Zalazje, near Srebrenica.
In 2008 the Hague Tribunal acquitted Oric, the former commander of the 28th Division of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of charges that he committed war crimes in Srebrenica.
