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NEDJO IKONIC SENTENCED TO 1 YEAR IN PRISON (UPDATE)
- Participated in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide (background)
- Convicted for lying on U.S. immigration forms
- Still faces deportation hearings that could send him to Bosnia
- Bosnian prosecutors want Ikonic tried for Srebrenica genocide
Nedjo Ikonic – a wanted Serbian war criminal and self-admitted participant in the Srebrenica Genocide – was sentenced to one year in prison Tuesday for lying on U.S. immigration forms. During the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, Bosnian Serb army – with the logistical support of Serbia – summarily executed at least 8,372 Bosniak men, children, and elderly, and forcibly deported 25,000 people in a U.N. assisted ethnic cleansing.
During the war, Ikonic commanded a police unit near Srebrenica during the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. According to the warrant, he and the second man, Dejan Radojkovic of Las Vegas, carried out attacks on civilians. After the war, Ikonic went into hiding to avoid arrest. Like many Serb war criminals, he found a safe haven in the United States. He settled in Greenfield, the Milwaukee area, and thought nobody would question him about his past. But, he was wrong.
Bosnian prosecutors who want to try Ikonic for genocide in front of a panel of international judges under the jurisdiction of the Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The deportation procedure is under the jurisdiction of a federal agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now that a court has established that Ikonic obtained his immigration status by lying, his deportation is more or less automatic and will probably be determined by an ICE administrative procedure (i.e. it will not require a judge’s order).
“Ikonic was arrested in 2006 and pleaded guilty in September to lying on an immigration form he filled out when trying to come to the United States in 2002… He was arrested in December 2006 as part of a nationwide sweep to find soldiers involved in the massacre at Srebrenica,” reported John Diedrich for
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Sanders said that Ikonic lied to hide his role in the Srebrenica genocide – the worst case of genocide in Europe since World War II. “Mr. Ikonic commanded a company that was at the epicenter of all the atrocities there. He was virtually in the eye of the storm,” said prosecutor Sanders. “Ikonic started trying to get out of Bosnia in 2002 because he saw others involved in the massacre being arrested. First, he tried to go to Canada but was rejected. Then he filled out the U.S. forms, lying about his role.”
“Adelman said it seemed likely to him that Ikonic and his unit played some role in at least facilitating the massacre at Srebrenica. But he said it was not his job to determine if Ikonic had committed war crimes, and he wasn’t making that finding,” reported Diedrich. “Adelman said the fact that Ikonic said he was persecuted when he may have been the one persecuting people, made this a more serious immigration case and warranted the longer sentence.”
According to Newsday reporter Matthew McAllester, UN investigators believe men under the command of Nedjo Ikonic helped separate “over 1,000 Bosnian Muslim men from the women and children and transported these men to temporary detention sites in Bratunac on 12 and 13 July 1995.” Bosniak prisoners were tortured and killed at these sites in the town of Bratunac; most were kept there before being taken to other places to be executed. People under Ikonic’s command also articipated in the separation of men from women before at least 24 men and six women were the victims of “opportunistic killings” in the village of Potocari. Ikonic’s men “were present at the [Kravica] Warehouse when the executions started and [they also] participated in the killings.” More than 1,000 Bosniak men were shot dead in this episode on July 13. Additionally, men under his command summarily executed “a group of 10 to 15 Bosnian Muslim prisoners held in custody at Sandici meadow” on the evening of July 13.
Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB) reported on its web site that “Nedjo Ikonic is mentioned in several documents and testimonies issued by the Hague Tribunal. These documents include the indictment against Drago Nikolic, which alleges that Nedjo was commander of the Second Special Police Squad from Mount Jahorina, which it is believed participated in the separation of male civilians from women and children at Srebrenica, as well as in capturing and killing them. Witnesses in the trial of Nikolic et al, mentioned Ikonic as being one of the policemen who took part in the separation of the civilians. The special police unit under Ikonic’s command – which the U.S. Immigration Department claims that in July 1995 was legally subordinate to the Bosnian Serb army – also took part in a road block operation as part of the subsequent sweep of the terrain around Srebrenica in which large numbers of men were taken prisoner and then summarily executed. Ikonic has acknowledged being present there over a period of a week.”
AUSTRALIAN POLICE RELEASE SECURITY IMAGES OF 5 SERBIAN THUGS
Australian Police want to speak to five Serbian thugs who knocked out Srebrenica refugee by chair following the tennis match between Serb player Novak Djokovic and Bosnian-born Amer Delic. Police have released security images showing faces of suspects that participated in a brawl at the Australian Open.
Take a close look at the security images below. If you recognize any of these thugs, please call your local Australian Police immediately.
According to Herald Sun, “After being hit by the chair the girl, 18, from St Albans, lay on the ground for some time being comforted by friends. She was later treated by St John Ambulance and fled home to her mother. Family friend Senada Softic said the girl was a Bosnian refugee whose father was killed in the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia.”
Serbian thugs were taunting Bosnian tennis supporters with genocidal rants. “The tension was so great. When you hear a group of youths between 16 and 20 years of age chanting, ‘Knife wire Srebrenica’, it’s absolutely appalling,” she said.
The 1995 Srebrenica genocide claimed lives of at least 8,372 men, children, and elderly, and resulted in the ethnic cleansing of 25,000 people under the United Nations’ protection.
UN JUDGES APPROVE TWO GENOCIDE CHARGES AGAINST RADOVAN KARADZIC
Karadžić, former President of the self-proclaimed Republika Srpska and head of the Serbian Democratic Party and Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), is charged by the Prosecution with genocide and a multitude of crimes against Bosniak, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina committed during the 1992-1995 war.
In the Amended Indictment, Karadžić is charged with two counts of genocide instead of initial one. The first count refers to the crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1992 and the second to the July 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. Two other counts have been dropped from the initial indictment, those being the charges of complicity in genocide and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. With the Amended Indictment, Karadžić is charged with criminal conduct in relation to 27 municipalities instead of the initial 41.
In 2000, Radovan Karadžić was ordered by a U.S. jury to pay $4.5 billion in damages for atrocities committed by his soldiers. The only problem – he was on the run. The U.S. Government placed $5 million bounty on his head. He was arrested in July 2008 in Belgrade, while he was freely practicing alternative medicine under the alias “Dragan David Dabic.”
“[Karadžić’s] war plan included the destruction of the Bosnian Muslims within a limited geographical area, i.e. within part of the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, with the aim of joining that part to Serbia. Milošević was the initiator and the moving force behind the execution of the plan to secure for the Serbs certain areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was Serbia’s political leader and was considered and admired by them as the leader and protector of all ethnic Serbs living on the former Yugoslav territory. He utilised Karadžić to formulate and articulate their joint intentions. In a conversation between Milošević, Karadžić and Babić conducted in July 1991, Karadžić said that ‘the Muslims should be expelled from the valleys in order to join together all Serb territories in Bosnia-Herzegovina’. Milošević and his collaborators made their intentions clear even before the start of the Yugoslav crisis. It was obvious that the inclusion of territories of other republics, and changes to the established borders, carried with them a high risk or likelihood of violence. They needed to use violence in order to achieve their aim, especially in an ethnically mixed country such as Yugoslavia. In other words, everything was known and predictable, but nothing was done to prevent it.”
Learn more about Bosnian Genocide:
1. Remembering Concentration Camps in Bosnia (PHOTOS)
2. Nikola Jorgic: The First Bosnian Genocide Judgment
3. Bosnian Genocide Judgment Upheld
Complete the physical separation of Srebrenica from Žepa as soon as possible, preventing even communication between individuals in the two enclaves. By planned and well-thought out combat operations, create an unbearable situation of total insecurity with no hope of further survival or life for the inhabitants of Srebrenica.
The end result (Srebrenica): In a matter of days, at least 8,372 victims Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men, children, and elderly were summarily executed, dumped into mass graves, then dug out and moved to secondary mass graves to hide the crime. Other bodies were thrown into the Drina river and they will likely never be recovered. Meanwhile, approximately 25,000 Bosniaks were forcibly expelled from Srebrenica in a U.N.-assisted ethnic cleansing.
Learn more about Srebrenica Genocide:
— Events preceding Srebrenica genocide:
—- 1. Serbs around Srebrenica attack and burn Muslim women, children, and elderly alive
—- 2. Serbs around Srebrenica slaughter 62 Bosniak children, injure 152
—- 3. This Muslim child was blinded by a grenade fired from militarized Serb-held villages around Srebrenica
—- 4. Under Siege: Bosnian Muslims lived under constant terrorist threat from Serbs around Srebrenica
—- 5. Research more here, or use custom search box (located on top left-hand side) to search for specific information…
— Results of Srebrenica genocide:
—- 1. 8,372 Victims of Srebrenica Genocide
—- 2. DNA Analysis: 8,000 Victims, not Less
—- 3. Requested: Gassing of Refugees by Chemical Weapons
—- 4. Ethnic Cleansing of Srebrenica women disguised as ‘humanitarian act’
—- 5. Preliminary List of Child Victims of Srebrenica Genocide
—- 6. Srebrenica Children Shot in Head
—- 7. Research more here, or use custom search box (located on top left-hand side) to search for specific information…
SENIDA BECIROVIC (MILA JANKOVIC)
MAP: Location of Caparde village, approximately 25 miles away from the town of Srebrenica (or some 10 miles away from the Srebrenica county), where Serbs formed Bordello concentration camp to repeatedly rape Bosniak women and young girls in 1992.
In 1992, Serbs attacked Bosniak Muslim village Caparde, some 20 miles away from Srebrenica (or some 10 miles away from the Srebrenica county – see map), killing trapped Muslim civilians. A nine-month-old Muslim baby Senida Becirovic, was abducted from her mother by Serb soldiers and sent to Serbia to be baptized into “Mila Jankovic.” Times Online reported that “Senida, now called Mila, had been raised as a Serb and a Christian and had no knowledge of her blood relatives or her heritage as a Bosnian Muslim.” As reported by Serbian journalist Nenad Pejic (RFEL), baby’s mother Senada, 2-year old sister Saida and four other close relatives are still missing.
After capturing Caparde in 1992, Serbs formed Bordello concentration camp in the village. Captive Muslim women were repeatedly raped, many of them intentionally impregnated and forced to carry Serb children in their wombs as a ‘punishment.’ Senida’s mother and sister most likely met the fate of other Muslim women and girls in Caparde who were repeatedly raped, tortured, or simply killed and thrown into undisclosed mass graves in the area. After losing his wife and two young children in 1992, Muhamed Becirovic gave up any hope of seeing them alive again, but he continued to search for them so he could provide them with a proper Muslim burrial.
Telegraph reported that in the 1992 Caparde attack, “Muslim men and women were thrown into concentration camps, where many were executed or raped. Muslim houses were demolished.” Their report is corroborated by the United Nations who investigated and confirmed the existence of Caparde Bordello concentration camp where captive women were repeatedly raped by Serbs. The excerpt from the U.N. report (Annex VIII – part 3/10) confirms the worst:
“Caparde «Bordello»: (The existence of this detention facility has been corroborated by multiple sources, including Amnesty International.) It is reported that 40 young Muslim women from the town of Brezovo Polje were held and systematically raped in a makeshift bordello in a furniture warehouse in Caparde following the capture of the town by Serb forces in early summer 1992. On 17 June 1992, about 1,000 women, children and old people were taken away from the village by Serbian forces, arriving in the town of Caparde several days later. At Caparde, the older women were separated from the younger women (15-25). The younger women were then held for several nights in a furniture warehouse and repeatedly raped before rejoining the older women and later being released.”
According to the same report, on one occassion Serbs transfered 12 busses of Bosniak Muslim civilians from an unknown location to the Bordello Caparde concentration camp:
“It is reported that between 17 and 19 June, extremists bussed non-Serbian civilians in 12 buses from Brcko to Bijeljina. These people were allegedly tortured for several days at Majevica, and then some of them returned to Bijeljina, while some were taken to Caparde in Kalesija county, where after two days of torture, they were released and managed to flee to Kladanj and Tuzla.”
PHOTO: Senida Becirovic (aka: Mila Jankovic) returns to Caparde 16 years later. Caparde is the Bosnian village she was born in and abducted from by Serb soldiers in 1992.
After 16 years of active searching for his missing daughter, Muhamed Becirovic reunited with his missing daughter in January. Red Cross used DNA analysis to trace missing child, now 17 year old girl, to her location in Serbia. She was living with elderly Serbian foster parents.
“All this seems to me like some dream where different people I know nothing about suddenly turn up. There are no words to describe this feeling. I am so happy and I am not happy at the same time, I am glad and I am not glad. They are my flesh and blood and I am happy to have found my family… Of course I am very happy to have found my family and my roots. But at the moment it is all too much for me. My father is still a stranger to me and cannot replace my foster parents… No one tries to understand what is going on in my head. Right now I just want to go on with my old life. Everyone will still call me Mila,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.
Senida told Times Online that she does not want to go to Germany and live with her father. “I don’t want to go to Germany or any other foreign country. I am definitely not ready for all this.” Instead, she went to Caparde to meet with her mother’s sister, Mejra Hasic, who still lives in the area.
PHOTO: Senida Becirovic, aka Mila Jankovic, reunites with her aunt Mejra Hasic in Caparde, 16 years later.
Senida Becirovic seems to be slowly coming back to her old Bosniak Muslim roots – where she belongs. There is an old Bosniak saying: “Blood is not Water,” and “Mila Jankovic” has already requested a Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Citizenship/Passport under a proper Muslim name that was given to her by her missing mother who was likely tortured and killed by the same Serb captors who abducted and baptized Senida in 1992.
Read more:
1. Times Online – Dilemma for daughter found 16 years after war abduction
2. Telegraph – Bosnian war ‘orphan’ snatched as a baby finds father after 16 years
3. Bosnian Institute – A missing Bosnian baby, now a Serbian teenager, searches for identity (also see original reporting by Radio Free Europe, contains photos of Senida Becirovic, aka Mila Jankovic).
4. Photo Gallery: Serbs around Srebrenica burned unarmed Bosniak women, babies, and elderly alive (viewer discretion advised).
Srebrenica Massacre 