JUSTICE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM: American court convicts Bosnian who tortured Serbs in Čelebići camp! He impersonated a Serb in the US! (VIDEO)

A US court in Boston has convicted Kemal Kemal Mrndžić (51), the head of security at the notorious Čelebići war camp in central Bosnia, where Serb prisoners were killed, systematically starved, tortured, and abused. He will be sentenced to prison in the coming days, Serbian Times learned from sources in the US Attorney’s office.

Mrndžić, who resides in Swampscott, near Boston, was convicted after a two-week accelerated trial for a 25-year scheme to conceal his involvement in the persecution of ethnic Serbs during the Bosnian war. He was also convicted of making false statements on the basis of which he became a refugee in the United States and eventually a US citizen.

Kemal Mrndžić, who was arrested 17 months ago at his home in a special forces police operation, was also convicted on the following charges: making false statements to Homeland Security agents about his role in the camp; possessing a fraudulently obtained certificate of naturalization and social security card; and fraudulently using a fraudulently obtained passport and certificate of naturalization. The jury acquitted him on two counts of making false statements to Homeland Security special agents.

A federal grand jury indicted Mrndžić in June 2023. The trial revealed shocking details that Mrndžić had been posing as a Serb in the US for years and had skillfully concealed his real name and surname. He even attended some gatherings with Serbs.

US Judge Moved by Heartbreaking Testimonies of Survivors

“The heartbreaking testimony of surviving Serb prisoners from Čelebići reminded us that the physical and emotional pain that Kemal Mrndžić and his fellow guards inflicted on them in that notorious camp still haunts them, 30 years later,” said Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy, who added:

“Mrndžić concealed his crimes for decades, but he grossly underestimated the courage of these victims and the dedication of law enforcement to find and prosecute those who participated in wartime persecution. Investigating and prosecuting these historic transnational cases requires exceptional dedication, and we are deeply grateful for the extraordinary work of our federal law enforcement partners and our partners in countries around the world.”

HELL ON EARTH: Footage from the Čelebići camp near Konjic, BiH

“The jury found Mrndžić guilty of lying about his past to come to the US under false pretenses, concealing his work as a guard at the notorious Čelebići camp, a prison with well-documented cases of violence, abuse, and even murder of prisoners during the Bosnian war”, said Michael J. Karol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations.

“We continue to use our international reach and regional expertise to uncover the past and bring to justice those who lie to seek undeserved refuge in the US. We want to express our deep gratitude for the courage of the survivors who came forward to testify during this trial”, he concluded.

Mrndžić served as a supervisor of guards at the notorious prisoner of war camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s war. Five camp survivors testified at the trial, recounting the horrific conditions at the Čelebići camp in 1992, when Mrndžić was a supervisor there.

Held in a shaft, tongues burned, sexually abused

Survivors testified about being held for months in a tunnel without light or air, about nearly suffocating after being locked in shafts for hours, and about daily and nightly beatings inflicted by camp guards – with baseball bats, wooden poles, and rifle butts.

Survivors testified about murders, burning the tongue of one prisoner with a heated knife blade, wrapping another prisoner in a long wick and then setting him on fire, sexual abuse, and other horrific acts committed over several months. One survivor recounted how a 70-year-old prisoner was beaten and the guards had pinned a military badge to his forehead as he was dying. Survivors also testified that they were starved and deprived of basic necessities, including sleeping on a concrete floor on a metal hanger for months on end, while being fed only a slice of bread a day.

“During the testimony, he was as cold as ice”

“While we were testifying, Mrndžić was as cold as ice. He didn’t even move. We recognized him immediately when we entered the courtroom. Now he has more weight than when he was in Čelebići, but I’ll never forget that face, neither I nor the other prisoners who came with me to Boston”” Slobodan Mrkajić, one of the witnesses against Mrndžić, told Novosti.

“My jaw was dislocated, I broke seven ribs. He forced me to drink urine, kicked me. He beat me while I was eating, then forced me and other prisoners to vomit what we had eaten. He tied us up with barbed wire. Mrndžić didn’t need an order to beat us, he did it out of personal need”, Mrkajić says.

After the testimony of Mrkajić and other prisoners, the judge said he had all the necessary material and testimony to make a decision and that the prisoners could go home, and the court would notify them of the verdict against Mrndžić.

“I expect him to get the punishment he deserves. To be punished for all the evil he inflicted on us in the camp. Many did not survive the beatings. Those who did carry traumas for life. Many died because of the traumas. We who are still alive have a duty to the dead to fight for justice”, said Slobodan.

“I was just waiting to see Kemal. To see how brave he is now. If he’s brave when people aren’t tied up and when they don’t have a gun or a knife to their throats”, Slobodan tells our paper.

He recalls that in the camp, in addition to brutal beatings and killings, there was also sexual abuse of male prisoners, as well as various forms of psychological torture where people simply died from torture.

“Those are lifelong traumas, so I understand those who don’t want to recall the horrors they went through because of Mrndžić and the other butchers from Čelebići”, Mrkajić says.

Only three convicted for Čelebići The United Nations Tribunal investigated the crimes committed in Čelebići in the 1990s and convicted two of the camp’s top commanders and one particularly sadistic guard for numerous crimes, including murder and torture. Three of Mrndžić’s colleagues, camp commander Zdravko Mucić, his deputy Hazim Delić, and guard Esad Landžo, were convicted by the ICTY after a trial in The Hague, at which survivors testified about the horrific conditions in the camp. Mucić was sentenced to 9 years in prison, Delić to 18, and Landžo to 15. The ICTY judgment detailing the crimes committed in Čelebići can be found here.

He lied to Americans that Serbs expelled him When Mrndžić was questioned by investigators about the case in 1996, international authorities did not charge him. Mrndžić later devised a scheme to leave Bosnia by crossing the border into Croatia and applying for refugee status in the United States using a fabricated story. In his refugee application and interview, he falsely claimed that he had fled his home after being captured, interrogated, and abused by Serbian forces, and that he could not return home for fear of future persecution. As the government alleged at trial, Mrndžić used his experience as a persecutor to create a false story that he had been persecuted. He was admitted to the US as a refugee in 1999 and eventually became a naturalized US citizen in 2009.

Maximum sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison The charges of using a fraudulently obtained passport and certificate of naturalization carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The remaining three charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The sentence will be imposed by the United States District Court Judge based on the guidelines and statutes of the United States that govern sentencing in criminal cases.

In addition to the judge and special agents from Homeland Security, Social Security, the Office of the Inspector General, the State Department, Border Patrol, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice, the US Interagency Crime and War Crimes Center, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services provided assistance in investigating this case. Assistance was also provided by the Australian Federal Police, the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Justice of Serbia, law enforcement agencies in Finland and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Illinois) and the Swampscott Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys John T. McNeil and Jason A. Casey of the National Security Unit. Survivors of the Čelebići camp and family members who have information about the camp’s operations or have questions about this matter can call the US Attorney’s Office at 888-221-6023 or email: usma.victimassistance@usdoj.gov.

They should indicate whether they would prefer to be contacted in English or Serbo-Croatian.

Source: Serbian Times / Department of Justice / US Attorney Office Photo: Arhiva (Logor Čelebići, MKSJ u Hagu)