US deports Bosnian-Serb wanted on genocide charges

A former Bosnian-Serb police commander wanted in his native country for his alleged role in the 1995 genocide of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica has been deported from the United States, authorities said on Thursday. Dejan Radojkovic, 61, arrived in Sarajevo on Thursday morning on a commercial flight escorted by U.S. federal agents who handed him over to Bosnian and Herzegovina police, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said. The former Las Vegas resident faces criminal charges in Bosnia for his alleged role in the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian-Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. The atrocities took place over several days in July 1995 as Bosnian Serb forces overran a contingent of U.N. peacekeepers, driving tens of thousands of Bosnian-Muslim civilians from the Srebrenica "safe area," among them the 7,000 Bosnian-Muslim men and boys who were later massacred. Authorities allege Radojkovic used his position as Special Police Brigade commander to help carry out the crimes. Specifically, prosecutors charge that he and his platoon rounded up some 200 Bosnian-Muslim men in the Konjevic Polje region and transferred them to locations where they were executed. "For the families who lost loved ones at Srebrenica, justice has been a long time coming, but they can take consolation in the fact that those responsible for this tragedy are now being held accountable for their crimes," ICE Director John Morton said in a statement. "I applaud the outstanding work ... in bringing a successful conclusion to this case. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure our country does not serve as a haven for human rights violators and others who have committed heinous acts," he added. Radojkovic, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, came to the United States in 1999. He was arrested in Las Vegas in January 2009, after a joint investigation by U.S. and Bosnian authorities linked him to possible war crimes. Ten months later, an immigration judge ordered Radojkovic deported on multiple grounds, including a finding that he "ordered ... and/or otherwise participated in extrajudicial killing." His removal order was upheld upon appeal. In seeking to establish Radojkovic's role in the Srebrenica genocide, ICE worked closely with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in The Hague, and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo. Radojkovic is the second former special police commander linked to the massacre to be targeted by ICE for removal. Nedjo Ikonic, formerly of Milwaukee, Wis., was deported in 2010, to face genocide-related charges in Bosnia and Herzegovina.