Zeljko Pudic, against whom the indictment for crimes against civilians in Derventa was confirmed, will not be extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina because he has Belgian citizenship, the Doboj County Prosecutor's Office and the Doboj Court confirmed.

The Prosecutor's Office in Doboj, through the County Court, received a request from the judicial authorities in Belgium for the delivery of certain documents in order to initiate an investigation against Pudic, after the request for extradition of the accused to BiH was rejected due to his Belgian citizenship.

“According to the aforementioned request, certain documentation was forwarded to judicial authorities in Belgium through the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a decision has not yet been made on the transfer of the case,” the Prosecutor's Office in Doboj stated, Detektor.ba reports.

The indictment, which was confirmed on May 19, 2023, accuses Pudic of participating in the murder of a Serb civilian in the capacity of a member of the 103rd Derventa Brigade of the Croat Defense Council (HVO) in the camp in the building of the former Home of the Yugoslav People's Army in Derventa, and for unlawful imprisonment of civilians who were beaten by other, unknown members of the HVO.

An international arrest warrant was previously issued for the accused because he was unavailable during the investigation.

The County Court of Doboj confirmed that it had issued the order to withdraw the international warrant.

In May of last year, the Doboj Court also sent a request to serve the indictment to Pudic to the authorities in neighbouring Croatia, given that the accused also has an address in Zagreb.