Croatia Indicts Serb Ex-Paramilitary Chief For War Crimes

Serbian paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic, pictured in 1991.

A Croatian court has indicted a former Serb paramilitary commander for committing war crimes during the country’s 1991-95 war.

The indictment came on January 8, six months after Dragan Vasiljkovic, also known as Captain Dragan, lost a nine-year battle to block his extradition to Croatia from Australia.

Vasiljkovic is accused of torturing and killing captive Croatian soldiers and police officers in the Serb rebel stronghold of Knin in 1991 and in Bruska in 1993, and of drawing up a plan to attack the police station in Glina and neighboring villages in July 1991.

"During the attack, civilian buildings were damaged or destroyed, the population was forced to flee, property was looted and civilians were killed or wounded," prosecutors said.

Vasiljkovic was arrested in 2006 in Australia, where he worked as a golf instructor.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP