BELGRADE, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - Dragan Zelenovic, wanted for war crimes by the Hague Tribunal, has arrived in Sarajevo after being extradited from Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina television said Friday.
Zelenovic, accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia of crimes against humanity and "violations of the laws and customs of war", was arrested August 25, 2005, in the west Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiisk, where he had been living for several years under the assumed name of Bronislav Petrovic, working in the construction industry.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Zelenovic had been extradited.
"Zelenovic was detained some time ago for illegally crossing the Russian state border, and in connection with an inquiry concerning his prosecution by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia he has been handed to the authorities of his country of citizenship," Lavrov said.
During the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zelenovic served as deputy head of the military police and as a field commander in the municipality of Foca in the south east of the country. He is accused of committing crimes between April 1992 and February 1993.
According to the tribunal's indictment, Foca was taken over by the Bosnian Serb Army and paramilitary units, which conducted mass arrests of Muslim and Croatian residents, including women, whom they brutally beat, tortured, raped and killed.
The Hague Tribunal is expected to transfer the Zelenovic case to a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
