A former guard at a infamous prison camp in Bosnia-Herzegovina who used a fabricated story to acquire refugee standing within the U.S. and settled within the Boston suburbs has been arrested on fraud and different costs, federal prosecutors stated Wednesday.
Kemal Mrndzic, 50, was dwelling in Swampscott, about 13 miles from Boston, on the time of his arrest, representatives for the U.S. Division of Justice stated. Prosecutors stated Mrndzic labored as guard on the Čelebići jail camp through the Bosnian Struggle within the Nineteen Nineties, and was recognized by survivors as being concerned in beatings and abuses that the camp was extensively identified for.
Mrndzic fled the nation after the warfare by crossing into Croatia and making use of as a refugee to the U.S., prosecutors stated. He falsely claimed he was captured and abused by Serb forces and couldn’t return dwelling, prosecutors stated.
Mrndzic was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999 and have become a naturalized citizen a decade later, prosecutors stated. They stated he has been charged with falsifying, concealing, and overlaying up a fabric truth from the U.S. authorities and different crimes.
“In line with courtroom paperwork, after the warfare ended, investigators from the (Worldwide Felony Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) interviewed Mrndzic in Sarajevo and allegedly accused him of being concerned within the abuses at Celebici,” the Division of Justice stated in a press release, including that three of Mrndzic’s fellow guards had been convicted by the tribunal.
A former Bosnia wartime jail camp guard who settled within the U.S. is going through federal costs. (Fox Information)
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Mrndzic made an preliminary look in federal courtroom in Boston on Wednesday and was launched on a $30,000 money bond.
A telephone itemizing for Mrndzic in Swampscott was disconnected on Wednesday. Calls to different listings beneath his title within the space weren’t returned.
Mrndzic is represented by Brendan Kelley, a federal defender primarily based in Boston. Kelley didn’t return a telephone name searching for touch upon Wednesday.
Different costs towards Mrndzic embrace utilizing a fraudulently obtained U.S. passport and possessing and utilizing a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificates and fraudulently obtained Social Safety card, prosecutors stated. A conviction to be used of a fraudulently obtained passport and a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificates every carry a penalty of as much as 10 years in jail.