Radomir Šušnjar, Accused of War Crimes in Višegrad, to Be Extradited to BiH in the Coming Days

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - After more than four years, Radomir Šušnjar, who is charged with war crimes in Višegrad, will be extradited from France to the Bosnian judiciary in the coming days, BIRN has learned.

According to information obtained by BIRN BiH, the handover of Šušnjar, the time when it will take place, as well as the transfer via a country, which is being kept secret for security reasons, have been agreed upon.

The French authorities have given the BiH authorities five days to take over Šušnjar, as stipulated by their laws. If the authorities in BiH do not secure the necessary conditions, Šušnjar will be released.

Šušnjar was arrested in France four years and two months ago, and the process for his extradition has been ongoing since then.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he is accused of participating in the crime in Pionirska Street in Višegrad, which is publicly known as the "living bonfire." Šušnjar was arrested in France on April 4, 2014, and Bakira Hasečić, president of the Association "Woman – Victim of War," said she hopes he will be extradited to BiH in the coming days.

Hasečić gave a statement in 2016 at the Court in Paris, which made the decision on Šušnjar's extradition. After considering the appeal, the French court confirmed in October 2016 the first-instance decision to extradite Šušnjar to BiH.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office previously confirmed that they had requested Šušnjar's extradition even before his arrest, back in 2013. The indictment against Šušnjar was filed in 2017.

The BiH Prosecutor's Office charges Šušnjar that in the Višegrad area in June 1992, personally and with other members of paramilitary formations and the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), he came to a house in Pionirska Street where civilians of Bosniak nationality from the village of Koritnik had previously been brought, and threatened the detainees that they would be killed if they did not hand over money and valuables.

Šušnjar is accused of personally, with threats and insults, searching civilians to ensure they had nothing hidden.

That same evening, as stated in the announcement of the BiH Prosecutor's Office, Šušnjar ordered the civilians to move in a column to another house and enter the ground floor rooms, and he personally pushed in the last civilian and locked the door. After that, according to the BiH Prosecutor's Office, an incendiary explosive device was thrown into the rooms, which caused a fire.

- Šušnjar threw a hand grenade, and at the same time fired at the house with automatic weapons to prevent civilians from escaping. There were 57 civilians detained in the house, including women, children, and the elderly, who were burned alive. Several managed to escape and save themselves, and the remains of the killed have not been found to this day - states the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

For the crime in Pionirska Street, Milan Lukić was sentenced to life imprisonment and Sredoje Lukić to 27 years in prison by a final verdict of the Hague Tribunal.