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Our government is determined to deny safe haven in Canada to war criminals

In the chaotic aftermath of the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, ethnic factions of Bosnian Serbs, Croats and Muslims were all fighting each other. Jozepovic is alleged to have been a member of the Croat military group known as the HVO.

The murders took place in the Bosnian village of Poljani, identified in court documents as Jozepovic’s hometown. In June 1993, the HVO rounded up Muslims residents of Poljani and detained them in squalid conditions in the basement of the village’s elementary school, which was being used as the HVO’s barracks.

The Canadian court document alleges Jozepovic “was present in Poljani, wearing a camouflage uniform with checkerboard patches on the shoulders.”

It says Jozepovic helped round up the Muslim residents and “participated in beating at least one of those civilians.” It also says he attempted to learn the whereabouts of two of the men who were later found murdered.

In mid-June, the HVO was losing ground in the fighting and the prisoners were allowed to flee. On June 25, 1993, a mass grave was exhumed that found the bodies of six men, plus a seventh nearby, all of whom were identified as Muslims. One body was found with a gunshot wound, the rest were determined to have been beaten to death, with nearly all of their bones broken. The bodies were partially burned.

“The defendant was seen with other HVO soldiers near the road” where the mass grave was discovered, the court documents say. “At that time, the smell of burning was apparent from the road.” The documents do not specify where that witness evidence comes from.

It is unclear why the Canadian government waited a full decade after the U.S. ruling before moving to revoke Jozepovic’s citizenship and deport him. Asked about the delay, Hussen’s office declined to speak about the case in specifics.

“Our government is determined to deny safe haven in Canada to war criminals and persons believed to have committed or been complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide,” a statement said.

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