Australian lawyers seek to block Croatian extradition

Australian lawyers seek to block Croatian extradition

Acting for Croatia, lawyer Stephen Lloyd told Sydney's Central Local court Thursday that Vasiljković — also known by his nom de guerre "Captain Dragan" — is accused of kicking a person in the head causing brain bleeding, instructing others to commit murder, killing civilians and firing upon a civilian city.

The offenses carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.

To extradite Vasiljković, Croatia's lawyers must demonstrate that his alleged crimes would also qualify as punishable offenses in New South Wales, the state where he was arrested.

But Vasiljković's lawyers are seeking to block the extradition on the grounds that his alleged offenses are war crimes that should be tried before the U.N.-established International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, not a Croatian criminal court.

While it would be illegal to kick someone in the head or order a murder during peacetime, such acts would not necessarily be criminal in wartime and should therefore be dealt with by an international tribunal, Vasiljković's lawyer Bradley Slowgrove told the court.

"In war we kill and assault each other. We give people medals for it; it can be lawful," he said. But there is "no fundamental distinction" under New South Wales law between war and peace, he added.

"The problem is that it's the law of war they want him for," Slowgrove said.

Wearing a light gray suit, Vasiljković sat alone in the dock throughout Thursday's proceedings, which were adjourned until Friday. A handful of supporters waved to the 51-year-old as police led him from the court.

Vasiljković first came to Australia when he was 15, but returned to his homeland to train Croatian Serb rebels in 1991 when Serbs took up arms against Zagreb's secession from the former Yugoslav federation.

He was allegedly sent to Croatia by the government of former Serb president Slobodan Milosevic, who aided the Croatian Serb rebellion, and later testified at Milosevic's war crimes trial at The Hague, Netherlands.

He acknowledges serving as a Serb commander, but has repeatedly denied committing war crimes during the Croatian conflict, in which about 10,000 people were killed.