Dutch Police Arrest Bosnian Suspected War Criminals

Mostar Bosnia Dec 1995

Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on Dec. 18, 1995 (Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images)

Today, the Dutch Public Prosecutor announced that the Dutch police have arrested two men who allegedly committed war crimes during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia.

One of the unnamed men, a 43-year-old Bosnian, is accused of being a brutal prison camp commander at a school in Bosnia where Serbs were held.

The man, allegedly a member of the 103rd Brigade of the Bosnian Croat Army (HVO), was arrested in the southern Dutch city of Spijkenisse and is accused of murder, torture and psychological and physical violence against civilians.

“He allegedly shot dead a civilian who tried to escape and other prisoners were forced to watch,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.

“Another prisoner was then beaten and another man had a gun put in his mouth and then the camp commander fired several shots,” it said.

The other suspect, a 52-year-old man with Bosnian and Dutch nationality, was arrested in the eastern town of Heumen.

He is accused of being a member of an armed group who committed war crimes in 1992.

The group allegedly shot up a home in the village of Beslagici, killing a man.

Both men were arrested at the request of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dutch authorities will now decide on whether they should be extradited.