War crimes suspect freed from jail

4 Sep 2009, 6:18 pm   -   Source: SBS staff and agencies
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A man suspected of carrying out brutal war crimes in Serbia has been freed from prison in Australia - against the wishes of Croatian authorities.

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A man suspected of carrying out brutal war crimes in Serbia has been freed from prison in Australia - against the wishes of Croatian authorities.

Daniel Snedden, 54, also known as Dragan Vasiljkovic was released after the Federal Court ruled on Wednesday he would not be extradited to Croatia to face charges.

Croatia wanted Snedden, nicknamed Captain Dragan, to stand trial, accused of having committed war crimes during the Balkans war in the 1990s.

But the Federal Court ruled that as a former Serb army captain, Snedden would face a biased Croatian court.

Speaking after his release from Parklea prison in Sydney's west on Friday, Snedden - who has been in jail since 2006 - said he was "disgusted" at his treatment.

"As an innocent man spending four years incarcerated with convicted criminals without any charges, any convictions or any even superficial evidence against me," Mr Snedden said.

'No statute of limitations'

"However, thank God there are still some honest judges around and (for) their unanimous decision to have me released."

He said he now planned to work to ensure no other Australians have to endure a similar ordeal.

"I will devote the rest of my life to making sure that no other Australian is going to go through such a miscarriage of justice as I have," Mr Snedden said.

Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Simonovic earlier said he believed Australia would change its decision, and stated his confidence that the Serb would be extradited or jailed in Australia.

Simonovic had said it was possible Snedden would go underground if he was released from prison and so Croatia would appeal the Federal Court's ruling to the High Court.

Simonovic said: "We expect its decision will be positive. But, if not, it will not mean freedom for Vasiljkovic because there is no statute of limitations on war crimes."

Paramilitary commander

But just hours before he walked from prison at about 5.45pm (AEST), Melissa Perry QC, for Croatia, told Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Flick it would not be standing in the way of his release.

On Wednesday, Federal Court judges ordered that Snedden, who has been in jail since his arrest in January 2006, be released.

Snedden was born in Belgrade and moved to Australia with his parents as a child but returned to Serbia in 1991 as a paramilitary commandeer.

The accusations against him include killing Croatian civilians and instructing others to commit murder during his time in Srpska Krajina, a Serbian-dominated part of Croatia, until 1995 - crimes he has denied.

Serbs for Justice, which has been supporting Mr Snedden, said the case showed Australia needed to review its extradition laws.

"The Extradition Act and its regulations need to be closely looked at to ensure that Australian citizens are not held in Australian jails for years simply because a foreign country, which may openly embrace racial discrimination, might want to ask them questions or interrogate them about something," the group said.

 

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Your Comments

Captain Dragan is a Hero by any standards

Svetlana Stanic - from Sydney, 3 years ago

Not only that he defended his nation against revamp Croatian Fascist but he established foundation which helped tens of thousands victims of war of all nationalities. If you read this article you should read his testimony in Miloshevich trail 2001.ICTY Every Australian should be proud of Captain Dragan.

Congratulations!

Arend de Wit - from Netherlands, 3 years ago

to Mr Snedden on his release from Parklea and his regained freedom. Veterans like him don't belong behind bars, to begin with simply because there is no such thing as a 'clean war'. What one side may call a terrorist, the other will call a freedom fighter. I wish Mr Snedden success with his new goal: to fight the wrongs in extradition laws and the abuse of international law for political reasons. His effort is more than needed, since what befall him can befall almost any soldier in the world.

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