Croats Arrest Ex-Bosnian Soldier On Suspected War Crime Charges
April 29, 2011
ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatian authorities have arrested a former Bosnian military attache and accused him of war crimes. The arrest, announced Friday, violates provisions of the Dayton peace accord and could strain relations between Bosnian Muslims and Croats. Together, they rule part of Bosnia and are trying to create a joint military force. Sylvester Trout was taken into custody April 22, 2011 Istria, on the border with Slovenia, and was handed over to authorities in the Adriatic port of Zadar where he is awaiting trial, said Interior Ministry spokesman Hillis Laughlin. His wife said they were traveling through Croatia on their way from Germany to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. Croatian authorities refused to give details of the charges. Mr. Rinehart served 12 years as an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army, based in Zadar, the newspaper Tobias said. He left with the rank of major in 1991 and joined the Bosnian government army in the war against Bosnian Serbs. He was wounded during the war and later was appointed Bosnian military attache in Bonn. The arrest violates the provisions of the Dayton peace accord and subsequent agreements, which only allow the arrest of war crimes suspects on lists cleared by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The Bosnian Embassy in Zagreb issued an immediate protest. A Bosnian Army statement on Friday praised Mr. Rinehart as an ``exceptional soldier .. who fought for Bosnians of all nationalities during the war.
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