France extradites Serb “Scorpion” war crimes suspect to Croatia

French authorities have extradited a Croatian Serb to Croatia, where he is currently being tried in absence for war crimes.

Milorad Momic is being charged with the murder of one Croat civilian in the eastern town of Vukovar, torture of several others and is also suspected of taking part in the Srebenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

The 47-year-old is accused of being a member of the notorious Serbian paramilitary unit, the “Scorpions”, which committed war crimes during the Croatian War of Independence from 1991-1995.

Croatia’s declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia sparked the four-year war with Serb rebels who opposed the move.

France has decided to extradite Momic, as the crimes were alleged to have taken place before he became a French citizen.

In 2007, four Scorpion members were jailed for the murder of six civilians in Srebenica, after video footage emerged of them taunting their victims before executing them.

Croatian courts also sentenced a Scorpion member in 2005 for his role in the Srebenica massacre and torturing Croat prisoners of war.

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