- Boro Marusic will be tried for four war crimes in Croatia, which he denies
A grandfather who appeared unassuming to Morrisons shoppers before being photographed with his groceries is believed to be a suspected Serbian war criminal fighting extradition from Britain.
Boro Marusic, 64, is on trial for four war crimes in Croatia – where he could be extradited to face crimes he allegedly committed as a soldier under the tyranny of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.
Croatian prosecutors say he was a paramilitary fighter in the former Yugoslav Army (JNA) involved in a violent kidnapping and an operation to forcibly expel non-Serbs from their villages.
More than 30 years after the crimes allegedly took place, when the complaints were put to him, he told the Mirror: “I deny all the allegations. I was in the army because it was war. Everyone was, they had to be.
After moving to Britain in 1999, Marusic currently lives on a quiet street in Bedford and was recently seen shopping and chatting with locals, dressed in work overalls and a baseball cap. baseball.
Boro Marusic currently lives on a quiet street in Bedford and was recently seen going shopping.
Marusic has reportedly worked as a car body painter since arriving in the UK – and faces up to 20 years in prison if returned to Croatia.
He was arrested by the National Crime Agency in January after a Croatian judge issued an arrest warrant for him in November 2022.
Prosecutors say he was involved in the violent kidnapping of a man in the village of Karanac in August 1991.
The victim reportedly claimed that Marusic was part of a group of soldiers who pushed him into the back of a car and then attacked him using the butts of their rifles and threatening to kill him.
The former soldier is also accused of taking part in another operation in which non-Serbs were threatened with weapons into leaving their homes.
The JNA, with a Serb majority and controlled by Serbian President Milosevic, was responsible for significant bloodshed in Croatia after the country declared independence in 1991.
Milosevic was the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes for his alleged role in the violence, which left thousands dead.
Marusic plans to fight his extradition to Croatia at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London in July.
He says the legal process in the country is “not fair” and that he has an alibi for the day he was allegedly involved in the brutal kidnapping, saying he was in his village painting a tractor .
Marusic admits he was part of the Yugoslav army, but denies any wrongdoing. The archive image shows Yugoslav Army soldiers photographed in 1999.
He criticized the evidence against him, pointing to the testimony of four people naming him, which the NCA documents would show.
He said: “Two of them are dead and one is in prison. I knew them, they were my friends. I don’t know why they say that now.
“After 32 years, I don’t know. Chances are they didn’t even write these things themselves. People are forced to lie and say certain things.
He added that he returned to Croatia every year before and did not understand “why this is happening now.”
Marusic is currently on £10,000 bail on the condition that he wears an electronic tag and stays at home overnight, while police confiscate his Croatian passport.
He reportedly has two grandchildren and says he takes care of his wife full-time.
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