JURIST - Paper Chase: US extradites woman suspected of war crimes to Bosnia

[JURIST] The US has extradited Rasema Handanovic, a woman accused of killing Bosnian Croat civilians during the 1992-1995 Bosnian Civil War [JURIST news archive], according to US officials Tuesday. Handanovic, along with Edin Dzeko who was extradited last week, served in a unit of the Bosnian Army that attacked a village [AP report] in Trusina on April 16, 1993, resulting in the death of 18 civilians. Fellow combatants testified to having witnessed Handanovic personally shoot wounded victims in the head [Reuters report], some multiple times. Handanovic, who immigrated to the US and became a citizen in 2006, lived with her family in Oregon. She faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

A number of cases have been opened in relation to the Bosnian Civil War. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website] confirmed the indictment [JURIST report] of former police officer Bozidar Kuvelja in March for his role in a 1995 massacre. In February, French authorities arrested Milorad Momic [JURIST report] under an international arrest warrant for his suspected involvement in war crimes. Last August, Spanish officials extradited accused Montenegrin war criminal [JURIST report] Veselin Vlahovic, known as the "monster of Grbavica," to Sarajevo. He was wanted on three international arrest warrants, including one for the rape, torture and murder of more than 100 women and children and is expected to face genocide charges before the country's war crimes court.