SARAJEVO, April 17 (Hina) - The Sarajevo Canton Prosecution has accepted criminal charges pressed against the incumbent head of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina's intelligence service, FOSS, who is suspected of having organised
attacks on international and local officials during an investigation into the operation of Hercegovacka Bank in April 2001.
SARAJEVO, April 17 (Hina) - The Sarajevo Canton Prosecution has
accepted criminal charges pressed against the incumbent head of the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina's intelligence service, FOSS,
who is suspected of having organised attacks on international and
local officials during an investigation into the operation of
Hercegovacka Bank in April 2001. #L#
Sarajevo dailies reported on Thursday the prosecution had accepted
charges filed against Ivan Vuksic by the federal interior ministry
and forwarded to the Sarajevo Canton Court a formal request to open
an investigation against Vuksic.
Vuksic is suspected of kidnapping inspectors of the federal
interior ministry and financial police in Grude on April 6, 2001, as
well as of extortion and blackmailing of local and international
organisations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He is also charged with having participated in instigating
incidents in Grude, which were aimed at preventing the confiscation
of documents from a local office of Hercegovacka Bank.
At the time, the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in the
country ordered an operation the purpose of which was to prevent the
parallel financing of Bosnia's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)
party and thwart the project of so-called Croat self-government.
The incidents were instigated with the help of the HDZ and the
operatives of the then National Security Service of Bosnia-
Herzegovina, one of whom was Vuksic.
The documents confiscated in the Hercegovacka Bank office in Grude
had to be returned due to threats that two kidnapped inspectors
would be killed, after which they were released.
The two inspectors later recognised Vuksic when he took up the
office of deputy director of the newly-established FOSS service in
Sarajevo. The service was set up in a bid to unify the country's
intelligence community.
The inspectors said that Vuksic was the person who had held them
hostage, interrogated them and forced them to read in front of the
cameras of local TV stations texts against the international
community and local police, condemning the raid of Hercegovacka
Bank.
International officials reportedly own video recordings with
evidence on Vuksic's involvement in the incidents.
Vuksic has practically been the first man of the FOSS since its
former head, Munir Alibabic, was replaced by High Representative
Paddy Ashdown in September 2002, on suspicion of leaking documents
to the media.
(hina) rml