Former soldier jailed over war crimes in Bosnia

SARAJEVO: A Bosnian court sentenced on Friday a former Muslim soldier to 12 years in jail over the killings of ethnic Croats during the country’s 1990s war. Edin Dzeko, 42, was extradited in December 2011 from the United States, where he had fled after Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war. He went on trial the following year over the killing of 22 ethnic Croats in the village of Trusina, in southern Bosnia. “Edin Dzeko was found guilty of taking part in the execution of prisoners of war and civilians” in April 1993, said judge Saban Maksumic. Dzeko was a member of the special Zulfikar unit, which was under the direct control of the Muslim-led Bosnian army headquarters. In 2012, Rasema Handanovic, also a member of the Zulfikar unit, became the first woman to be convicted of war crimes by a local court after admitting killing of Croats in Trusina. Handanovic, who had also fled to the United States before being extradited in 2011, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in jail. Another six Muslim former soldiers are facing trial before Bosnia’s war crime court over the Trusina crime. Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2014