Bosnia-Erzegovina: arresti eccellenti / Important Arrests in Bosnia
Nei giorni scorsi sono stati arrestati due importanti personaggi della
"Bosnia di Izetbegovic".
Il caso piu' recente e piu' clamoroso e' quello di NASIR ORIC, il
famigerato comandante delle truppe bosniaco-musulmane dell'enclave di
Srebrenica, che e' stato preso e tradotto all'Aia.
L'altro caso - gia' annunciato da una inchiesta in corso da molti mesi
nella Federazione bosniaco-musulmana - e' quello di MOHAMED SACIRBEY,
che e' stato Ministro degli Esteri di Izetbegovic e soprattutto
Ambasciatore all'ONU nel periodo cruciale della secessione, quando fu
tra l'altro protagonista della campagna di disinformazione strategica
sugli "stupri etnici" e sui "campi di sterminio" serbi.
=== NASIR ORIC ===
La figura di Oric e' legata alla vicenda di Srebrenica, descritta in
dettaglio in molti documenti che abbiamo inviato e che continueremo ad
inviare sulla lista JUGOINFO, nonche' ben spiegata sul libro di
Juergen Elsaesser "Menzogne di guerra" (ed. La Citta' del Sole, 1999).
Oric e' il principale responsabile dei massacri compiuti dalle truppe
musulmano-bosniache stanziate nella "enclave protetta" di Srebrenica
soprattutto nel 1992-1993 (dunque all'inizio della guerra fratricida e
ben prima della conquista della citta' da parte serbo-bosniaca). I
soldati di Oric uscivano dalla citta' ed andavano a distruggere i
villaggi dei contadini serbi d'intorno, massacrandone gli abitanti.
Questi episodi venivano volutamente ignorati dai media occidentali.
L'arresto e la traduzione di Oric al "Tribunale" dell'Aia - una
struttura paralegale gestita dalla NATO e completamente sbilanciata a
detrimento della parte serba e jugoslava - ha sorpreso molti ed ha
generato proteste da parte delle cosiddette vittime di Srebrenica e
dei loro parenti (si intendono qui solamente i musulmano-bosniaci che
sarebbero stati massacrati a migliaia dai serbi nel luglio 1995;
tuttavia la reale dimensione di questa carneficina del 1995 non e'
nota a causa della campagna strategica di disinformazione imbastita
allo scopo di coprire il contestuale svuotamento delle Krajne da parte
croata, e per preparare la campagna di bombardamento NATO
dell'agosto-settembre): si vedano i dispacci ANSA
BOSNIA: ARRESTO ORIC, PROTESTANO MADRI DI SREBRENICA
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030411160532533756.html
TPI: SOPRAVVISSUTI STRAGE SREBRENICA PROTESTANO ARRESTO ORIC
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030412172732534835.html
e si noti che in questi dispacci si evita accuratamente di spiegare di
che cosa debba rispondere Oric all'Aia.
Come spiegare l'arresto di Oric?
Da una parte, con l'apertura della fase della "guerra infinita" contro
il "terrorismo islamico" e' diventato opportuno per l'Occidente e gli
USA in particolare "scaricare" personaggi e settori criminali ed
islamisti, dei quali pure si erano serviti in passato. E' noto infatti
che il partito islamista di Izetbegovic, e tutta la struttura
militare-criminale contigua, sono stati finanziati, armati ed
addestrati in particolare dagli USA (citiamo solamente la MPRI ed Al
Qaeda).
Contemporaneamente, l'arresto di Oric rappresenta una "verniciatura di
bianco" sulla reputazione del "Tribunale dell'Aia", struttura oramai
completamente privata di credibilita' a causa delle pratiche faziose,
in flagrante contrasto con le piu' elementari norme di diritto comune
ed internazionale. Questa "verniciatura di bianco" consente di
aumentare la pressione per la cattura del leader politico
serbo-bosniaco Radovan Karadzic.
---
BOSNIA: EX COMANDANTE MUSULMANO ARRESTATO E PORTATO ALL'AJA
(ANSA) - L'AJA, 11 APR - Un ex comandante delle forze musulmane a
Srebrenica, Nasser Oric, e' stato arrestato ieri sera da reparti della
Sfor (Forze di stabilizzazione della Nato) e trasferito all'Aja. Lo ha
detto un portavoce del Tribunale penale internazionale.
Oric, il cui nome stava su una lista segreta del procuratore del Tpi
Carla Del Ponte, e' accusato di violazione delle leggi e delle
convenzioni di guerra. In mattinata dovrebbe giungere alla struttura
detentiva del Tribunale all'Aja. I dettagli sui capi d'accusa saranno
resi noti in giornata [*]. Oric guidava le forze musulmane di
Srebrenica, l'enclave della Bosnia orientale che subi' un drammatico
assedio, prima di esser conquistata, da parte dei serbo-bosniaci nel
luglio 1995. Oltre 7 mila musulmani furono massacrati dalle milizie
del generale Ratko Mladic, tuttora latitante [**]. (ANSA). COR-SPD
11/04/2003 09:48
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030411094832533303.html
[*] Essi non saranno pero' mai resi noti dall'ANSA.
[**] Si noti che l'ANSA invece di parlare dei crimini di Oric parla
dei crimini dei serbi.
---
Bosnian Muslim to face war crimes trial at UN tribunal
By Toby Sterling in The Hague
12 April 2003
A Bosnian Muslim army commander was handed over to the UN tribunal in
The Hague yesterday to face allegations of war crimes against Serbs.
Naser Oric was captured by Nato-led forces on Thursday in the northern
Bosnian city of Tuzla. Before the war, Mr Oric, 35, worked as a
bodyguard for Slodoban Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president [sic!
Note the extreme effort made by this journalist to mis-inform. CNJ].
But he disappeared in 1990 and resurfaced as Muslim fighter in Bosnia.
He became the wartime army commander in the eastern Bosnian town of
Srebrenica, the site of the worst massacre of civilian Muslims during
the 1992-1995 war.
Although widely praised in Bosnia for defending Muslims from Serb
attackers, Mr Oric faces charges of "murder, cruel treatment, wanton
destruction and plunder", the tribunal said.
He will be brought before a judge on Tuesday and asked to plead to the
charges. About 200 people, mostly women from Srebrenica who survived
the 1995 executions, blocked a street to protest against the arrest.
They said other war crimes suspects, such as Radovan Karadzic, the
former Bosnian Serb leader, were the true culprits. "They arrested
Naser while the real criminals are now probably laughing at us and at
the thousands of victims who are still missing," said Aljo Savanovic,
19, who lives in Tuzla as a refugee.
Other Tuzla residents condemned Mr Oric as a gangster and said they
were happy to see him go. "With all due respect to the Srebrenica
widows, I have to say that if Naser Oric is guilty, he has to face
justice, like everybody else has to," said Ado Imamovic, 23, a
student.
Captain Dale MacEachern, a spokesman for the Nato-led peace-keeping
force, said people such as Mr Oric, when allowed to walk free,
"impeded the progress and development of Bosnia-Herzegovina". He
added: They force people to live in the past and they ensure their own
freedom by means of blackmail, fear and extortion.
Mr Oric's indictment alleges that between June 1992 and March 1993 he
and his forces participated in the torture and beating of Serb
prisoners at Srebrenica police station and pillaged 15 towns and
hamlets predominantly inhabited by Serbs. "In some instances,
prisoners were beaten to death, the document says. "Physical abuse
included beatings by various objects including wooden sticks, wooden
poles, steel pipes, metal bars, baseball bats, rifle butts, bare
fists, kicking with boots and forced teeth extractions with rusty
pliers."
Serbs blame Mr Oric and his forces for killing about 2,000 Serb
civilians from villages around Srebrenica during those raids,
including the so-called "Bloody Christmas" massacre of January 1993,
when dozens of women and children died in the village of Kravice.
The United Nations tribunal for former Yugoslavia, which sits at The
Hague, was established in 1993 to prosecute those responsible for war
crimes during a decade of ethnic violence in the Balkans.
Although it has mainly prosecuted Serbs, it has also launched
proceedings against a small number of Croats and Muslims accused of
wartime atrocities. (AP)
© 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4646794,00.html
Srebrenica 'hero' faces torture trial
Andrew Osborn
Saturday April 12, 2003
The Guardian
Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre accused Nato of anti-Muslim
bias yesterday after it arrested the Bosnian Muslim commander who
tried to defend the enclave.
Naser Oric, 36, was immediately flown to the Hague to face war crimes
charges.
He is considered a hero by many Bosnian Muslims for his attempt to
stop Bosnian Serb forces overrunning the enclave and killing about
8,000 Muslim men and boys.
But the UN war crimes tribunal says forces commanded by Mr Oric were
guilty of torturing Serbs in 1992-93 and of burning Serb villages
around Srebrenica.
He has been charged with six separate war crimes.
Mr Oric, once a bodyguard for Slobodan Milosevic, was snatched from
outside his home on Thursday night by S-For, the Nato-led Bosnia
stabilisation force, but his arrest has outraged Bosnian Muslims.
They believe that he should not have been arrested while wartime
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and general Ratko Mladic remain
at large. Both are accused of overseeing the Srebrenica massacre but
have repeatedly frustrated attempts by S-For to arrest them.
Sabra Kolenovic, a survivor of the massacre, said: "We are all
embittered and surprised."
The Women of Srebrenica association went further. In a statement it
said: "Naser is our surviving son and by his arrest you have finally
shown your real face and expressed the hatred you feel for Muslims
across the world and in Bosnia itself."
In Brussels, Nato's secretary general, Lord Robertson, urged Mr
Karadzic and Mr Mladic to surrender.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003
=== MOHAMED SACIRBEY ===
Anche Sacirbey - nome islamizzato per Sacirbegovic - e' un personaggio
ingombrante, non solamente per gli episodi di corruzione dei quali e'
accusato, ma proprio per la sua ambigua posizione tra New York e
Sarajevo e per il fortissimo legame con l'establishment USA.
BOSNIA: USA; ARRESTATO EX MINISTRO ESTERI A NEW YORK
(ANSA) - NEW YORK, 25 MAR - L'ex ministro degli esteri della Bosnia
Mohamed Sacirbey e' stato arrestato a New York con l'accusa di aver
sottratto alcuni milioni di euro al governo bosniaco. Sacirbey, che
oltre ad essere stato ministro degli esteri dal 1998 al 2000, e' stato
anche a due riprese ambasciatore all'Onu, e' stato arrestato a Staten
Island, dove abita.
L'ex ministro, che ha la doppia cittadinanza bosniaca e degli Stati
Uniti, e' stato accusato dal governo di Sarajevo di appropriazione
indebita di 2,8 milioni di euro. Le accuse sono relative alle
spese e ai fondi pubblici gestiti dalla missione bosniaca a New York,
di cui Sacirbey e' stato capo dal 1992 al 1996 e dal 1998 al 2000
e per cui non ha mai presentato riscontri. (ANSA). BN
25/03/2003 20:12
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030325201232514714.html
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/nyregion/26DIPL.html
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Ex-Bosnian Envoy Arrested on Charge of Embezzlement
By BENJAMIN WEISER
The former ambassador to the United Nations from Bosnia and
Herzegovina was arrested yesterday on Staten Island, officials said,
and faces an extradition hearing on charges he embezzled $2.4 million
in his government's money.
The former official, Muhamed Sacirbegovic, 46, faces charges of "abuse
of position or powers" in Bosnia, according to an extradition
complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
The complaint says that Mr. Sacirbegovic is accused of stealing about
$610,000 from Bosnia's permanent mission in New York by issuing checks
and bank orders drawn on the mission's accounts and transferring the
money to his private bank account.
Mr. Sacirbegovic also depleted a second Bosnian government account of
about $1.8 million, the complaint said.
In a hearing in federal court yesterday, Magistrate Judge Debra C.
Freeman ordered Mr. Sacirbegovic held without bond pending further
proceedings.
The extradition request stems from an arrest warrant issued for Mr.
Sacirbegovic in December 2001 by a court in Sarajevo, the complaint
said.
Steven M. Statsinger, a lawyer for Mr. Sacirbegovic, said in court
that his client intended to fight the extradition request.
"He is very eager to have a hearing and establish his innocence of the
allegations," Mr. Statsinger said.
Mr. Statsinger said his client had been aware for some time that
Bosnian authorities were looking into the matter and that he had been
working to resolve it.
The complaint said that Bosnian authorities discovered the financial
losses after the mission found "enormous liabilities" and "unexplained
expenses."
The mission was unable to pay rent for its office, telephone bills,
and salaries, the complaint said.
When Bosnian officials questioned Mr. Sacirbegovic "about the
accounting irregularities and missing funds," the complaint said, he
assured them that he would provide documentation to support and
explain the expenditures.
But he did not provide the necessary documents or explanations, the
complaint said.
A person who answered the phone at the mission yesterday said there
would be no comment on the case. The complaint says that Mr.
Sacirbegovic last served as Bosnia and Herzegovina's ambassador to the
United Nations in December 2000.
In court, Mr. Statsinger argued that Mr. Sacirbegovic should be
granted bond pending the extradition hearing, saying that he was not a
risk to flee.
Mr. Statsinger said his client was a naturalized American citizen, had
a wife and "very strong ties" to the area and had recently started a
new business.
"This is an individual who has absolutely no inclination or indeed
incentive to run away," Mr. Statsinger said.
But the office of United States Attorney James B. Comey told Judge
Freeman in a letter that American courts have long held that bail
should not be granted in international extradition proceedings, except
in the most unusual circumstances, which do not apply in this case,
the letter said.
"The defendant's release on bail would have negative implications for
American foreign policy in cases where the United States seeks
extradition of fugitives from abroad," a federal prosecutor, Danya
Perry, wrote.
If Mr. Sacirbegovic is extradited and convicted, prosecutors said, he
faces a minimum term of three years in prison.
===
[Rassegna e commenti a cura di Italo Slavo]
Nei giorni scorsi sono stati arrestati due importanti personaggi della
"Bosnia di Izetbegovic".
Il caso piu' recente e piu' clamoroso e' quello di NASIR ORIC, il
famigerato comandante delle truppe bosniaco-musulmane dell'enclave di
Srebrenica, che e' stato preso e tradotto all'Aia.
L'altro caso - gia' annunciato da una inchiesta in corso da molti mesi
nella Federazione bosniaco-musulmana - e' quello di MOHAMED SACIRBEY,
che e' stato Ministro degli Esteri di Izetbegovic e soprattutto
Ambasciatore all'ONU nel periodo cruciale della secessione, quando fu
tra l'altro protagonista della campagna di disinformazione strategica
sugli "stupri etnici" e sui "campi di sterminio" serbi.
=== NASIR ORIC ===
La figura di Oric e' legata alla vicenda di Srebrenica, descritta in
dettaglio in molti documenti che abbiamo inviato e che continueremo ad
inviare sulla lista JUGOINFO, nonche' ben spiegata sul libro di
Juergen Elsaesser "Menzogne di guerra" (ed. La Citta' del Sole, 1999).
Oric e' il principale responsabile dei massacri compiuti dalle truppe
musulmano-bosniache stanziate nella "enclave protetta" di Srebrenica
soprattutto nel 1992-1993 (dunque all'inizio della guerra fratricida e
ben prima della conquista della citta' da parte serbo-bosniaca). I
soldati di Oric uscivano dalla citta' ed andavano a distruggere i
villaggi dei contadini serbi d'intorno, massacrandone gli abitanti.
Questi episodi venivano volutamente ignorati dai media occidentali.
L'arresto e la traduzione di Oric al "Tribunale" dell'Aia - una
struttura paralegale gestita dalla NATO e completamente sbilanciata a
detrimento della parte serba e jugoslava - ha sorpreso molti ed ha
generato proteste da parte delle cosiddette vittime di Srebrenica e
dei loro parenti (si intendono qui solamente i musulmano-bosniaci che
sarebbero stati massacrati a migliaia dai serbi nel luglio 1995;
tuttavia la reale dimensione di questa carneficina del 1995 non e'
nota a causa della campagna strategica di disinformazione imbastita
allo scopo di coprire il contestuale svuotamento delle Krajne da parte
croata, e per preparare la campagna di bombardamento NATO
dell'agosto-settembre): si vedano i dispacci ANSA
BOSNIA: ARRESTO ORIC, PROTESTANO MADRI DI SREBRENICA
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030411160532533756.html
TPI: SOPRAVVISSUTI STRAGE SREBRENICA PROTESTANO ARRESTO ORIC
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030412172732534835.html
e si noti che in questi dispacci si evita accuratamente di spiegare di
che cosa debba rispondere Oric all'Aia.
Come spiegare l'arresto di Oric?
Da una parte, con l'apertura della fase della "guerra infinita" contro
il "terrorismo islamico" e' diventato opportuno per l'Occidente e gli
USA in particolare "scaricare" personaggi e settori criminali ed
islamisti, dei quali pure si erano serviti in passato. E' noto infatti
che il partito islamista di Izetbegovic, e tutta la struttura
militare-criminale contigua, sono stati finanziati, armati ed
addestrati in particolare dagli USA (citiamo solamente la MPRI ed Al
Qaeda).
Contemporaneamente, l'arresto di Oric rappresenta una "verniciatura di
bianco" sulla reputazione del "Tribunale dell'Aia", struttura oramai
completamente privata di credibilita' a causa delle pratiche faziose,
in flagrante contrasto con le piu' elementari norme di diritto comune
ed internazionale. Questa "verniciatura di bianco" consente di
aumentare la pressione per la cattura del leader politico
serbo-bosniaco Radovan Karadzic.
---
BOSNIA: EX COMANDANTE MUSULMANO ARRESTATO E PORTATO ALL'AJA
(ANSA) - L'AJA, 11 APR - Un ex comandante delle forze musulmane a
Srebrenica, Nasser Oric, e' stato arrestato ieri sera da reparti della
Sfor (Forze di stabilizzazione della Nato) e trasferito all'Aja. Lo ha
detto un portavoce del Tribunale penale internazionale.
Oric, il cui nome stava su una lista segreta del procuratore del Tpi
Carla Del Ponte, e' accusato di violazione delle leggi e delle
convenzioni di guerra. In mattinata dovrebbe giungere alla struttura
detentiva del Tribunale all'Aja. I dettagli sui capi d'accusa saranno
resi noti in giornata [*]. Oric guidava le forze musulmane di
Srebrenica, l'enclave della Bosnia orientale che subi' un drammatico
assedio, prima di esser conquistata, da parte dei serbo-bosniaci nel
luglio 1995. Oltre 7 mila musulmani furono massacrati dalle milizie
del generale Ratko Mladic, tuttora latitante [**]. (ANSA). COR-SPD
11/04/2003 09:48
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030411094832533303.html
[*] Essi non saranno pero' mai resi noti dall'ANSA.
[**] Si noti che l'ANSA invece di parlare dei crimini di Oric parla
dei crimini dei serbi.
---
Bosnian Muslim to face war crimes trial at UN tribunal
By Toby Sterling in The Hague
12 April 2003
A Bosnian Muslim army commander was handed over to the UN tribunal in
The Hague yesterday to face allegations of war crimes against Serbs.
Naser Oric was captured by Nato-led forces on Thursday in the northern
Bosnian city of Tuzla. Before the war, Mr Oric, 35, worked as a
bodyguard for Slodoban Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president [sic!
Note the extreme effort made by this journalist to mis-inform. CNJ].
But he disappeared in 1990 and resurfaced as Muslim fighter in Bosnia.
He became the wartime army commander in the eastern Bosnian town of
Srebrenica, the site of the worst massacre of civilian Muslims during
the 1992-1995 war.
Although widely praised in Bosnia for defending Muslims from Serb
attackers, Mr Oric faces charges of "murder, cruel treatment, wanton
destruction and plunder", the tribunal said.
He will be brought before a judge on Tuesday and asked to plead to the
charges. About 200 people, mostly women from Srebrenica who survived
the 1995 executions, blocked a street to protest against the arrest.
They said other war crimes suspects, such as Radovan Karadzic, the
former Bosnian Serb leader, were the true culprits. "They arrested
Naser while the real criminals are now probably laughing at us and at
the thousands of victims who are still missing," said Aljo Savanovic,
19, who lives in Tuzla as a refugee.
Other Tuzla residents condemned Mr Oric as a gangster and said they
were happy to see him go. "With all due respect to the Srebrenica
widows, I have to say that if Naser Oric is guilty, he has to face
justice, like everybody else has to," said Ado Imamovic, 23, a
student.
Captain Dale MacEachern, a spokesman for the Nato-led peace-keeping
force, said people such as Mr Oric, when allowed to walk free,
"impeded the progress and development of Bosnia-Herzegovina". He
added: They force people to live in the past and they ensure their own
freedom by means of blackmail, fear and extortion.
Mr Oric's indictment alleges that between June 1992 and March 1993 he
and his forces participated in the torture and beating of Serb
prisoners at Srebrenica police station and pillaged 15 towns and
hamlets predominantly inhabited by Serbs. "In some instances,
prisoners were beaten to death, the document says. "Physical abuse
included beatings by various objects including wooden sticks, wooden
poles, steel pipes, metal bars, baseball bats, rifle butts, bare
fists, kicking with boots and forced teeth extractions with rusty
pliers."
Serbs blame Mr Oric and his forces for killing about 2,000 Serb
civilians from villages around Srebrenica during those raids,
including the so-called "Bloody Christmas" massacre of January 1993,
when dozens of women and children died in the village of Kravice.
The United Nations tribunal for former Yugoslavia, which sits at The
Hague, was established in 1993 to prosecute those responsible for war
crimes during a decade of ethnic violence in the Balkans.
Although it has mainly prosecuted Serbs, it has also launched
proceedings against a small number of Croats and Muslims accused of
wartime atrocities. (AP)
© 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
---
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4646794,00.html
Srebrenica 'hero' faces torture trial
Andrew Osborn
Saturday April 12, 2003
The Guardian
Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre accused Nato of anti-Muslim
bias yesterday after it arrested the Bosnian Muslim commander who
tried to defend the enclave.
Naser Oric, 36, was immediately flown to the Hague to face war crimes
charges.
He is considered a hero by many Bosnian Muslims for his attempt to
stop Bosnian Serb forces overrunning the enclave and killing about
8,000 Muslim men and boys.
But the UN war crimes tribunal says forces commanded by Mr Oric were
guilty of torturing Serbs in 1992-93 and of burning Serb villages
around Srebrenica.
He has been charged with six separate war crimes.
Mr Oric, once a bodyguard for Slobodan Milosevic, was snatched from
outside his home on Thursday night by S-For, the Nato-led Bosnia
stabilisation force, but his arrest has outraged Bosnian Muslims.
They believe that he should not have been arrested while wartime
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and general Ratko Mladic remain
at large. Both are accused of overseeing the Srebrenica massacre but
have repeatedly frustrated attempts by S-For to arrest them.
Sabra Kolenovic, a survivor of the massacre, said: "We are all
embittered and surprised."
The Women of Srebrenica association went further. In a statement it
said: "Naser is our surviving son and by his arrest you have finally
shown your real face and expressed the hatred you feel for Muslims
across the world and in Bosnia itself."
In Brussels, Nato's secretary general, Lord Robertson, urged Mr
Karadzic and Mr Mladic to surrender.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003
=== MOHAMED SACIRBEY ===
Anche Sacirbey - nome islamizzato per Sacirbegovic - e' un personaggio
ingombrante, non solamente per gli episodi di corruzione dei quali e'
accusato, ma proprio per la sua ambigua posizione tra New York e
Sarajevo e per il fortissimo legame con l'establishment USA.
BOSNIA: USA; ARRESTATO EX MINISTRO ESTERI A NEW YORK
(ANSA) - NEW YORK, 25 MAR - L'ex ministro degli esteri della Bosnia
Mohamed Sacirbey e' stato arrestato a New York con l'accusa di aver
sottratto alcuni milioni di euro al governo bosniaco. Sacirbey, che
oltre ad essere stato ministro degli esteri dal 1998 al 2000, e' stato
anche a due riprese ambasciatore all'Onu, e' stato arrestato a Staten
Island, dove abita.
L'ex ministro, che ha la doppia cittadinanza bosniaca e degli Stati
Uniti, e' stato accusato dal governo di Sarajevo di appropriazione
indebita di 2,8 milioni di euro. Le accuse sono relative alle
spese e ai fondi pubblici gestiti dalla missione bosniaca a New York,
di cui Sacirbey e' stato capo dal 1992 al 1996 e dal 1998 al 2000
e per cui non ha mai presentato riscontri. (ANSA). BN
25/03/2003 20:12
http://www.ansa.it/balcani/bosnia/20030325201232514714.html
---
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/nyregion/26DIPL.html
THE NEW YORK TIMES, Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Ex-Bosnian Envoy Arrested on Charge of Embezzlement
By BENJAMIN WEISER
The former ambassador to the United Nations from Bosnia and
Herzegovina was arrested yesterday on Staten Island, officials said,
and faces an extradition hearing on charges he embezzled $2.4 million
in his government's money.
The former official, Muhamed Sacirbegovic, 46, faces charges of "abuse
of position or powers" in Bosnia, according to an extradition
complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
The complaint says that Mr. Sacirbegovic is accused of stealing about
$610,000 from Bosnia's permanent mission in New York by issuing checks
and bank orders drawn on the mission's accounts and transferring the
money to his private bank account.
Mr. Sacirbegovic also depleted a second Bosnian government account of
about $1.8 million, the complaint said.
In a hearing in federal court yesterday, Magistrate Judge Debra C.
Freeman ordered Mr. Sacirbegovic held without bond pending further
proceedings.
The extradition request stems from an arrest warrant issued for Mr.
Sacirbegovic in December 2001 by a court in Sarajevo, the complaint
said.
Steven M. Statsinger, a lawyer for Mr. Sacirbegovic, said in court
that his client intended to fight the extradition request.
"He is very eager to have a hearing and establish his innocence of the
allegations," Mr. Statsinger said.
Mr. Statsinger said his client had been aware for some time that
Bosnian authorities were looking into the matter and that he had been
working to resolve it.
The complaint said that Bosnian authorities discovered the financial
losses after the mission found "enormous liabilities" and "unexplained
expenses."
The mission was unable to pay rent for its office, telephone bills,
and salaries, the complaint said.
When Bosnian officials questioned Mr. Sacirbegovic "about the
accounting irregularities and missing funds," the complaint said, he
assured them that he would provide documentation to support and
explain the expenditures.
But he did not provide the necessary documents or explanations, the
complaint said.
A person who answered the phone at the mission yesterday said there
would be no comment on the case. The complaint says that Mr.
Sacirbegovic last served as Bosnia and Herzegovina's ambassador to the
United Nations in December 2000.
In court, Mr. Statsinger argued that Mr. Sacirbegovic should be
granted bond pending the extradition hearing, saying that he was not a
risk to flee.
Mr. Statsinger said his client was a naturalized American citizen, had
a wife and "very strong ties" to the area and had recently started a
new business.
"This is an individual who has absolutely no inclination or indeed
incentive to run away," Mr. Statsinger said.
But the office of United States Attorney James B. Comey told Judge
Freeman in a letter that American courts have long held that bail
should not be granted in international extradition proceedings, except
in the most unusual circumstances, which do not apply in this case,
the letter said.
"The defendant's release on bail would have negative implications for
American foreign policy in cases where the United States seeks
extradition of fugitives from abroad," a federal prosecutor, Danya
Perry, wrote.
If Mr. Sacirbegovic is extradited and convicted, prosecutors said, he
faces a minimum term of three years in prison.
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[Rassegna e commenti a cura di Italo Slavo]