The President of the Association of Women Victims of War, Božica Živković Rajilić, believes that the authorities of Sweden avoid extraditing the suspected war criminal Deda Odobašić because they do not recognize the crimes committed against Serbs.
“The authorities of Sweden have shown that they apply double standards when it comes to people who have committed war crimes against Serbs and those who have committed crimes against Bosniaks,” Rajilić stated.
She emphasized that, for the Swedish authorities, the victims of the war in BiH and the perpetrators are not the same, highlighting that if it were a Serb in question, he would have been immediately extradited and prosecuted.
“Since it is about a Bosniak, it is questionable whether Odobašić will be extradited to BiH, and whether the witnesses will be alive to testify in court,” Rajilić emphasized.
She concluded that, regardless of the shameful behavior of the authorities in Sweden, the families of Serbian war victims must never give up on demanding that Odobašić be extradited and prosecuted.
An official from the Swedish Ministry of Justice, Amanda Karle, said that it is currently not possible to answer when Stockholm will respond to BiH’s request for the extradition of Odobašić, nor whether he will be extradited.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska was informed that Odobašić was arrested on January 2nd, according to an Interpol warrant, and his extradition is awaited, as previously stated by the Ministry.
The indictment states that Odobašić, in the building of the municipal assembly of the then Bosanski Brod, abused a Serbian civilian after he was tortured and beaten by members of the Croatian Defence Council.
He is charged with torturing and causing severe injuries to a Serbian woman who was imprisoned in a cell in the old police building in Brod.
At the District Court in Doboj, in March last year, the plea hearing for Odobašić was postponed because he did not appear in court.
Source: RTRS
