Rasema Handanovic, Bosnian War Crimes Suspect, Held In Oregon

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters/Dan Cook) - A single mother accused of committing war crimes in the Balkans was ordered held without bond on Friday to await a hearing on a request for extradition to her native Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A U.S. magistrate judge ruled that Rasema Handanovic, 39, who moved to the United States in 1996 and became a naturalized citizen in 2002, was a flight risk and danger to the community.

She is accused of killing 15 to 16 unarmed Croat civilians and prisoners of war in the village of Trusina as a member of the Bosnian army's special Zulfikar unit in April 1993, according to witness statements cited in her extradition request. Prosecutors said the witnesses had served with her in the Bosnian military.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Atkinson told the judge that Handanovic had threatened suicide while in custody, and he referred to her suffering a "psychotic event" just before her initial court appearance on Wednesday.

Handanovic, dressed in a blue prison uniform, said nothing and appeared calm during her hour-long hearing on Friday, in marked contrast to her demeanor on Wednesday when the judge ordered the defendant to compose herself.

Defense attorney Lisa Hay argued that her client suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a war victim herself.

"She suffered sexual assault at the hands of law enforcement personnel (in Bosnia), and her fiance was murdered," Hay said.

Hay also told the judge that disability payments received by Handanovic, a former security guard, were the sole source of financial support for her 11-year-old son and elderly parents who lived with her in the Portland suburb of Beaverton.

But prosecutors say her extradition request painted Handanovic as a cold-blooded killer who "committed abhorrent, wanton crimes, especially serial murder."

"She is readily capable of intimidating (or worse) the witnesses who gave statements against her," prosecutors said in their court filings. All the witnesses reside overseas.

Handanovic was arrested on Wednesday, at about the same time as the arrest of a man from Everett, Washington, Edin Dzeko, 39, accused of similar atrocities as part of the same army unit.

The charges stem from a 1993-94 war between Bosnians, Muslims and Croats that was ended by a Washington-brokered peace deal. A Bosnian state war crimes court was set up in 2005 to try thousands of suspects and take over mid- and low-ranking cases from a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Handanovic's extradition hearing was tentatively set for June 28.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Bohan)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[huffpodc]

11:25 AM on 04/21/2011

what about the Serb paramilitaries who raped her and killed her fiance ? Since the international courts were able to mount a prosecution of her, how about extending the investigation and prosecuting the originators of her condition ?

Equivocation of the actions of the various parties in the former Yugoslavia will fail. The evidence is clear that the Serbs expected to retain control and the other groups left as fast as they could. In return, the Serbs used the institutions of the former state to attempt to steal the assets of the other groups and destroy them, since the Serbs knew that without them, a Serb-only state would be medieval. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/karadzic/atrocities/omarska.html

[CubnKira]

09:48 AM on 04/17/2011

The Kosovo War that Clinton got us into that killed so many civilians with air strikes gets a free pass, while everyone piles on Bush for the 2 wars he got us into. We went into an area that again was of no concern to us and should have been handled by the EU. The ungrateful muslims still hate us notwithstanding we went in to 'protect' them, tho committed horrible atrocities as well.

Now, we have Obama's Folly in Libya, another country that was of no danger to us or even any surrounding country. To believe Obama's lies, we went in for a 'couple of days' of enforcing a no fly zone. We have been there a month or more now and civilians are dying because of our bombing. We are supporting 'rebels' who have strong ties to al Qaeda.

At least if it were Syria (who has butchered over 200 civilians) or Iran, or No. Korea who are also brutal on their protestors, an argument could be made that they are a threat to us and the region. Libya is the most ridiculous of all the wars and represents strictly regime change, not a humanitarian mission. It is the Arab League's problem, not ours, esp. when we are broke.

[Blackwing]

10:43 AM on 04/17/2011

There is no comparison to Kosovo and Iraq. Iraq was a war of stoopidity started by the dumbest guy in America.

[reddy52]

10:49 AM on 04/18/2011

Dems are so pathetic. When one of their guys starts a war, they support it. When the other guy does it, they oppose it. Pathetic.

[fridakahlofan]

09:42 AM on 04/17/2011

All the horrendous atrocities she committed are haunting her, that's some penance-for a lifetime.

[am10]

09:01 AM on 04/17/2011

Somehow while reading this story the war crimes part got put on the back burner. I'm still trying to figure out how she became a naturalized citizen so fast and then received disability payments that supported a family of three non-working adults.

[Blackwing]

10:44 AM on 04/17/2011

Maybe being white and European helped a little.

[PCPrincess]

10:59 AM on 04/17/2011

Omg, right? It's nearly impossible for American Citizens born here with missing limbs to get a damned disability check. That pisses me off.

[Stephen a Fazekas]

08:36 AM on 04/17/2011

While i have a family member on SSI for having schizophrenia he has tried to work and yet can only hold a job for a few weeks before a major episode comes up. He spends his time doing volunteer work for the state trying to help others.
I really think people moving to this country to mooch of the system is pathetic hell most people i have seen on disability are full of it and are just too lazy or dumb to work.
I dare you people to call me a lair to go on walmart on welfare day or go to a ghetto bodega watching they charge welfare systems 40 bucks for 20 dollars cash

[frank day]

09:24 AM on 04/17/2011

LIAR

[fridakahlofan]

09:41 AM on 04/17/2011

Gee, racist much?? You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Transam man]

08:21 AM on 04/17/2011

I can see her and John Wayne Gacy, Jr at childrens birthday parties.

[bradenton]

07:34 AM on 04/17/2011

Another twinkie defense.

[Branches Road]

07:33 AM on 04/17/2011

Rasema and her group have made more crimes, 18 April 1993 burned this little village and all the inhabitants expelled...link=... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP8ueFeMjD4
April 19 was captured by several hundred residents of surrounding villages, All men were taken to camps in the town of Konjic and women and children in several houses.
Then Rasema of all women had ordered her to surrender all money and gold, some women are able to download the ring, she was threatened that they will cut off your finger if you can no! It is a very evil woman.

[UpBone]

04:56 AM on 04/17/2011

Seems to have that Alaskan look to her.

[frank day]

09:26 AM on 04/17/2011

Yeah, definitely mama grizzly.

[General Public]

04:40 AM on 04/17/2011

Well that's odd, that we let a war criminal become a naturalized citizen... no wait... I seem to remember that Dr. Werner von Braun, who was a Nazi rocket scientist who used slave labor from concentration camps such as Buchenwald, ended up being brought to the United States as a rocket scientist and ended up as the chief rocket scientist for the U.S. military and space program, and was largely responsible for the U.S. developing ballistic missiles as well as the rockets used by the space program. In fact, there were a whole lot of Nazi war criminals who were brought into the United States and naturalized as citizens to be scientists for us in the Cold War, as part of "Project Paperclip". See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4443934.stm for more on this.

[Stephen a Fazekas]

08:33 AM on 04/17/2011

Von Braun did not like the fact that he was forced to use slave labor, In nazi germany you either take what was given to you or get shot.

There was one slave who claimed Werner personally whipped him and gave evil laughs but from official documents he only went to one of underground camps a couple of times.

[frank day]

09:27 AM on 04/17/2011

a lover of the 3rd reich? what a surprise

[Alouisious Manfree]

03:02 AM on 04/17/2011

Wait! What? She's been in the U.S since '96, and a naturalized citizen since '02, and ALREADY she's sucking on the teat of the rest of us by claiming a disability?!?!?

I've been working since 1968, and am hard pressed to qualify for any sort of government program. My student loans, all mine, and paid by me. My mortgage, all mine, and paid by me. My health care, all mine, and paid by me.

Oh yea, that's right, they need me, to pay into it, so these freeloaders can come over here and after working a few years, (or months), file a claim and live of my $$$.

[PaganKMcK]

04:29 AM on 04/17/2011

Your Mortgage is paid to a business and not the Government. Your student loans are paid to a bank who probably charged you more interest than necessary (even though the Government may have actually funded the loan). Your health care is paid to an insurance company not the Government. If you have been working since 1968 you either are eligible for Social security or will be soon.

The money you speak of comes from most Americans, not just you. And frankly people like this woman represent a much smaller share of Government expenidtures than the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya.

YOu are angry at thye wrong people.

[ChicagoBob]

04:45 AM on 04/17/2011

I clicked fan and favorite but nothing happened. Maybe on the reload.

In any event your comments are spot on and highlight the illogical, uninformed thinking that pervades public discourse these days.

[blackranger]

09:35 AM on 04/17/2011

there never seems to be stories of the many many families that our social system helps. right now, many of the working poor make too little to live on and without our social system, children would be on the streets with no food. This country seems to have a large number of greedy selfish people, and they don't all work for banks, some of them live in your own neighborhood. How can people not care about their fellow man.

[sak]

01:33 AM on 04/17/2011

Let her commit suicide. It will save a lot of time and money. People who can commit crimes like hers have no place in society. If they wish to leave, so be it.

[Ian Matthews]

03:03 AM on 04/17/2011

But the relatives of her victims in the former Yugoslavia want to see her answer for her alleged crimes there. That would be justice.

[PaganKMcK]

04:30 AM on 04/17/2011

We do not know if she is innocent or guilty.

[blackranger]

09:36 AM on 04/17/2011

let her face a jury of her peers in her own country.

[gclafontaine]

01:07 AM on 04/17/2011

Hideous human.

[gclafontaine]

01:08 AM on 04/17/2011

What is the source of your problems?

[hollace]

07:59 AM on 04/17/2011

When did civil war become about Right and Wrong? I hope she's sent back and tried in the Hague.

[Don Treadwell]

09:26 AM on 04/17/2011

I couldn't disagree with you more. As I have experience working with many illegal Bosnians, she was only doing what was best at the time. How many of you have ever been in her shoes? Didn't think so. She did what she had to do, and that was right.

[avon96734]

12:40 AM on 04/17/2011

Soulless.