JERUSALEM — An Israeli judge on Wednesday cleared the way for Israeli prosecutors to try to extradite a former Bosnian Serb soldier back to his homeland to face genocide charges.
A Jerusalem judge ordered Aleksander Cvetkovic to remain in jail during extradition proceedings — a process that could last months. The 42-year-old Cvetkovic, who is married to an Israeli woman and holds Israeli citizenship, covered his face with his hands as he entered the courtroom for Wednesday's hearing.
Cvetkovic was arrested on Tuesday following a Bosnian extradition request accusing him of being part of an eight-man firing squad that executed between 1,000 and 1,200 Bosnian Muslims at the Branjevo Farm in July 1995.
The killings were part of what became known as the Srebrenica massacre, where Serb troops killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
The Israeli public defender's office has appointed Nick Kaufman, a British Jew who has both defended and prosecuted war criminals — including Serbs — to defend Cvetkovic.
"He stands on his innocence, and the crime that he is charged with is extremely hard to prove," Kaufman said outside the courtroom.
The court will now consider the evidence submitted by Bosnian authorities, and any defense presented by Cvetkovic, before deciding whether he should be extradited, said Tal Werner-Kling of the Israeli State Attorney's international division.
That process that could take months, particularly if Cvetkovic appeals. The extradition also requires the approval of Israel's Justice Minister.
The arrest came as a surprise to those who knew Cvetkovic and his family in the northern Israeli town of Carmiel.
"I do not believe, really, such a thing," said neighbor Alexander Rakoshi. "He is a nice, friendly guy."
An 18-page extradition request laid out the Bosnian prosecutor's evidence against Cvetkovic in gruesome detail. It includes testimony by fellow soldiers previously tried in international court, claiming they used automatic weapons to gun down busloads of blindfolded civilians.
If Cvetkovic's extradition is approved, he would be tried in the special war crimes department of Bosnia's State Court in Sarajevo, which has convicted seven people for genocide in Srebrenica. In addition, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague has convicted 13 other Serbs in connection with the massacre.