Extradited From Germany, Wartime Serb Commander Faces New Trial In Bosnia

By Marija Tausan

The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday sought detention for Dragoljub Kunarac, accused of wartime crimes in Foca in eastern Bosnia, citing the risk of his flight and public unrest after he was extradited from Germany to Bosnia the day before. 

At a hearing held after Kunarac’s transfer from Germany, where he had been serving a 28-year prison sentence imposed by the Hague war-crimes tribunal, the defence insisted that detention was unjustified, noting that he had not opposed coming to Bosnia to face charges.

But prosecutor Remzija Smailagic noted that Kunarac had formerly lived in Foca, near the Serbian border with Montenegro, which he could easily cross. “He has a clear motive to flee … The fact is that he is charged with a crime against humanity, for which the heaviest sentence can be imposed,” Smailagic said.

She highlighted Kunarac’s family ties in Montenegro, and pointed out that more than 100 suspects and accused persons are currently unavailable to the Bosnian judicial authorities in neighbouring countries.

The prosecutor noted that the 2018 indictment charges Kunarac with murder, torture, deportation, and other crimes, and that his remaining free “would result in a threat to public order”. If the court did not order detention, she added, the Prosecutor’s Office would propose restraining measures.

Kunarac, as commander of a special unit of the Bosnian Serb Army of the Republika Srpska known as “Zaga” [Saw], is indicted together with other members of the unit, with killing at least six people on July 27 and 28, 1992, from the villages of Kobilja Ravan, Luka and Falovici-Podpece. 

He is also accused of participating in the torture and infliction of severe physical and psychological suffering on captured civilians, as well as the deportation of Bosniak civilians, as part of a campaign of persecution. During the attacks on Bosniak civilians, Kunarac is also accused of participating in the burning of houses and property.

Kunarac was arrested in 1998. In 2001, the Hague war-crimes tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, sentenced him to 28 years in prison for multiple rapes and for enslaving two women, depriving them of control over their lives and treating them as his property. He was transferred to Germany in December 2002. 

In both 2021 and 2024, the Hague court’s Residual Mechanism rejected requests for his early release.

When questioned by presiding judge Dalida Burzic, Kunarac said he does not hold the citizenship of any other country than Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that all his personal documents have long since expired. Burzic said that, according to court information, Germany had refused a request for Kunarac’s extradition, so he was essentially only transported from the country.

Defence lawyer Anja Loga said Kunarac had told the German authorities that he wanted to face the charges in Bosnia. 

“He never opposed extradition to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Loga said. She added that the Prosecutor’s Office has not substantiated any intention to flee. “It is not enough to say that over a hundred suspects are unavailable. This does not apply to my client. He voluntarily surrendered to the Hague tribunal,” Loga said.

She said the defence would not oppose the imposition of restraining measures for him.

Responding to the defence’s claim that Kunarac could have requested to go to Montenegro, prosecutor Smailagic said that a warrant had been issued for him by Bosnia. The court will issue a decision on the prosecution request at a later date.