Serbian living in England held in Vukovar massacre inquiry

UK: For 10 years he had lived quietly in Corby, northern England, where he was a locksmith, a father of two young boys and a hardworking stalwart of the town's Serbian community. But yesterday Milorad Pejic was sitting in a high-security prison in central Belgrade awaiting trial for his alleged role in one of the deadliest atrocities of the Balkan wars.

He has been questioned by an investigating magistrate in Belgrade and will mark his 40th birthday in jail next week.

Prosecutors at the special court in Belgrade have been wanting to question Pejic since December 2003. In 2006 they issued an international arrest warrant for him. But it was only when he flew into Belgrade last Wednesday that he was arrested.

The British authorities said they had not received a request for extradition, while the Home Office declined to say when he had been given a British passport.

Pejic, a Serb from Vukovar, is said to have fought with the Serbian territorial defence forces who played a key role in conquering his hometown.

In a statement, the Serbian war crimes prosecutor's office said: "Milorad Pejic, a Vukovar-born British citizen, was deprived of [ his] liberty at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport on March 19, pursuant to an international arrest warrant. Once a member of the Vukovar territorial defence force, Pejic is suspected of participation in the incident which occurred by the pit Grabovo at Ovcara in November 1991, and which resulted in the execution of over 200 war prisoners."

The Belgrade authorities are also seeking another Vukovar Serb, Damir Sireta, who has been living in Norway. - (Guardian service)

© 2008 The Irish Times

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