ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - Croatia has requested from Canada the extradition of Josip Budimcic, a Croat sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for war crimes committed in eastern Slavonia. The 38-year-old Budimcic was convicted in
1995, but the judgement was revoked by the Supreme Court following a defence appeal. In a repeated trial in 1996, he was again found guilty of the execution and disappearance of Croatian soldiers in eastern Slavonia in 1991, and was again sentenced to 15 years in prison. Budimcic, who was a member of Serb paramilitary units during Croatia's early 1990s war of independence, was convicted of war crimes against humanity and the international law and crimes against prisoners of war contrary to the Geneva conventions. The limitation in the execution of the sentence expires in 25 years. Budmicic was located in Croatia's eastern Danubian Region until 1995. He emi
ZAGREB, March 3 (Hina) - Croatia has requested from Canada the
extradition of Josip Budimcic, a Croat sentenced in absentia to 15
years in prison for war crimes committed in eastern Slavonia.
The 38-year-old Budimcic was convicted in 1995, but the judgement
was revoked by the Supreme Court following a defence appeal. In a
repeated trial in 1996, he was again found guilty of the execution
and disappearance of Croatian soldiers in eastern Slavonia in 1991,
and was again sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Budimcic, who was a member of Serb paramilitary units during
Croatia's early 1990s war of independence, was convicted of war
crimes against humanity and the international law and crimes
against prisoners of war contrary to the Geneva conventions. The
limitation in the execution of the sentence expires in 25 years.
Budmicic was located in Croatia's eastern Danubian Region until
1995. He emigrated to Canada two years later and requested to be
granted citizenship.
Four Canadian investigators visited Osijek, eastern Croatia,
earlier this year, looking for additional information about the
crimes Budimcic is charged with.
"Canada requested Croatia's permission for additional information
two years ago," said Dragan Simenic, an Osijek County Court
investigating judge who headed an investigation into Budimcic.
Neither the municipal nor the county court in Osijek, nor the
ministries of the interior and justice offered to say why Croatia
failed to issue an international arrest warrant for Budimcic in
five years and requested his extradition upon learning he was in
Canada.
Croatia requested the extradition last month. The two countries,
however, have not signed an extradition agreement, and Canada is
not a signatory to the European Convention on Extradition.
Canada's legislation stipulates that extradition from Canada is
possible on the basis of a bilateral or multilateral agreement, a
non-agreement extradition and a special agreement in a specific
case, the Croatian Justice Ministry said.
The court is the first to rule on the extradition. Canada's justice
minister then evaluates the circumstances of the case and decides
whether to grant the request or not, said Lidija Lukina-Karajkovic,
the Croatian justice minister's assistant for international legal
assistance.
There is also the possibility that Canada prosecute Budimcic given
that its legislation provides for prosecuting foreigners,
regardless of where they committed the crime, explained Simenic.
The Justice Ministry says it impossible to determine the exact
number of people whose extradition Croatia has requested as for
some international arrest warrants are about to be issued, for
others they already have but the parties have not been arrested, and
there are also those who have been arrested but not yet extradited.
Between 1992 and 1999, 56 people were extradited to Croatia. The
requests were overturned in three cases.
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