SARAJEVO, Feb 6 (Hina) - Bosnia's authorities are intensively checking the citizenship of several hundred persons who are originally from Islamic countries and were granted Bosnian citizenship during or immediately after the early
1990s war, the head of Bosnia's anti-terrorist coordinating team, Ivica Misic, told reporters on Wednesday. "We are especially interested in how these people were granted citizenship by accelerated procedure whereas people born in Bosnia and Herzegovina had to wait much longer to prove their right to citizenship," Misic said after a Council of Ministers session which tackled the measures Bosnia is undertaking against terrorism. Investigation has shown that the contentious citizenship certificates were signed by the same persons throughout the 1992-8 period, said Misic. The media claim there are some 750 such certificates granted people from Arab and African countries.
SARAJEVO, Feb 6 (Hina) - Bosnia's authorities are intensively
checking the citizenship of several hundred persons who are
originally from Islamic countries and were granted Bosnian
citizenship during or immediately after the early 1990s war, the
head of Bosnia's anti-terrorist coordinating team, Ivica Misic,
told reporters on Wednesday.
"We are especially interested in how these people were granted
citizenship by accelerated procedure whereas people born in Bosnia
and Herzegovina had to wait much longer to prove their right to
citizenship," Misic said after a Council of Ministers session which
tackled the measures Bosnia is undertaking against terrorism.
Investigation has shown that the contentious citizenship
certificates were signed by the same persons throughout the 1992-8
period, said Misic. The media claim there are some 750 such
certificates granted people from Arab and African countries.
Misic said the Council of Ministers also discussed the six
Algerians whom Bosnian authorities extradited to the United States
on suspicion of terrorism two weeks ago. The Council concluded the
authorities had acted in line with the law and international
conventions, and that there had been no grounds on which the
Algerians could have remained in Bosnia after their citizenship had
been revoked, he added.
Misic described the reactions of some human rights associations to
the extradition as exaggerated, inappropriate, and based on a lack
of knowledge of Bosnian laws.
Bosnia's minister of civil issues and communications, Svetozar
Mihajlovic, said the Council of Ministers also tackled the case of
Alija Delimustafic, a former Bosnian interior minister who was
recently arrested in Belgrade for possessing fake documents.
Mihajlovic said Bosnia would request that Delimustafic be
extradited because he was under investigation for embezzlement.
Bosnia and Yugoslavia do not have an extradition agreement but
Bosnia hopes this will not be a hurdle to cooperation in the
Delimustafic case.
(hina) ha