‘Captain Dragan’ extradited from Australia to face Croatian court over alleged war crime

THE first person to be extradited from Australia on war crime charges is accused of training a Balkan death squad. But to some, he’s a hero, celebrity and ‘renaissance man’.

TO many he’s a war hero and a renaissance man, immortalised as a comic book star and held up as a celebrity. To others he’s a criminal, responsible for horrific torture and murders of Croatian soldiers.

Now, the Australian man known as Captain Dragan will finally face charges he’s been avoiding for over a decade, becoming the first person to be extradited from Australia charged with war crimes.

Dragan Vasiljkovic, a one-time ally of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic and former Australian Army reservist will today be transferred from Sydney where he has been languishing in prison.

Escorted by police, he’ll be flown to Croatia where police await to arrest the accused war criminal and transport him to a coastal court, The Australian reports.

The 60-year-old will face charges hanging over his head since his role in the Balkans War during the early 1990s. It’s the latest turn in the divisive figure’s twisted story, which began with his decision to join what would become a genocide in the Serbian republic of Krajina.

Serbian born Vasiljkovic migrated to Australia as a teenager in 1967.

He changed his name to Daniel Snedden and went on to join the Australian Army spending four years in the reserves.

His military interests took him around the world, including Africa where he was rumoured to have engaged in arms trading, and eventually led him back home to Serbia where he became a paramilitary commander, defending his country’s interests during the Croation War of Independence.

Vasiljkovic’s unit became known as the Red Berets, and were famous among the people they were defending.

He trained his group in military operations against the Croats which allegedly resulted in mass torture and murder, earning their captain his war crime charges.

Vasiljkovic is accused of commanding the group who tortured and killed prisoners of war. His men are accused of war crimes including torture, murder, and conducting mock executions, and he’s wanted for questioning over three separate incidents.

In a 2011 interview with ABC’s Foreign Correspondent, former Croatian truck driver Predrag Begic described carrying the bodies of Croatian policeman allegedly killed by troops under Captain Dragan’s command. He described the policemen being stripped of their uniforms down to their underwear, having their weapons taken, and told to run.

“But when they’d covered two or three hundred metres the order was given from the roadside where there were 100 to 150-odd soldiers close by,” he said.

“They took their automatic weapons and sprayed these police officers who’d been told they could go. So they were killed.”

Vasiljkovic denies commanding troops that committed these atrocities, and says he trained a group that committed no criminal acts.

Since his arrest in 2006, when he was tracked down by police in Perth after returning to Australia and making a living as a golf instructor, Vasiljkovic has fought against his extradition.

He has his supporters as well, reportedly becoming a television celebrity during his exploits in the Balkans and inspired a red beret-wearing war hero character in a comic strip, popular among his Serbian fans.

Back home in Belgrade, he had a reputation as a philanthropist helping those disabled by conflict, according to the ABC.

Dusan Vukojevic, who was under his command in the Red Berets, described his former leader as a “renaissance man”.

Captain Dragan’s brother said he would not have mistreated anyone.

In 2005 Vasiljkovic told The Australian he was willing to answer questions about war crimes.

“I won’t say I’m perfect because nobody is perfect ... but I’m sure I never killed a civilian, I’m sure I never killed a prisoner, I’m sure I never killed anybody that didn’t have to be killed,” he said at the time.

The end of the lengthy legal battle to see Vasiljkovic face accusations of war crimes has been described as a victory for his victims and a victory for Australia.

Croation Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic welcomed the extradition, saying it was now a chance for the court to “decide who is right and who is wrong,” The Australian today reports.