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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
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{{short description|Serb war criminal}}

{{Infobox Military Person {{Infobox military person
|name=Dragan Vasiljković | name = Dragan Vasiljković
| native_name = Драган Васиљковић
|lived=Born:], ]
| native_name_lang = Serbian
|placeofbirth=]:]
| image = Dragan Vasiljković (cropped).jpg
|image=
| image_size = 185px
|caption=
| caption = Vasiljković in 2005
|nickname=Kapetan Dragan(] Dragan)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1954|12|12|df=y}}
|allegiance=Serbia
| death_date =
|serviceyears=
| birth_place = ], ], ]
|rank=Captain
| death_place =
|commands=Knindže
| nickname = Captain Dragan
|unit=
| birth_name =
|battles=]
| allegiance = {{flag|Australia}}<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbian Krajina (1991).svg}} ]
|awards=
| serviceyears = 1991–1995
|laterwork=] ]
| rank = ] ]
| unit = ] ]
| branch = {{Flagicon_image|War Flag of Serbian Krajina.svg}} ]
| battles = {{tree_list}}
*]
**]
**]
**]
**]
{{tree list/end}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Nada Lukich-Bruce|2010}}
}} }}
'''Dragan Vasiljković''' ({{lang-sr-cyrl|Драган Васиљковић}}; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed '''Captain Dragan''' ({{langx|sr|Капетан Драган|Kapetan Dragan}}) is a convicted war criminal and former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the ] during the ].<ref name="abcnews">{{cite news|title=The Real Captain Dragan |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/the-real-captain-dragan|newspaper=]|date=26 May 2011|access-date=11 July 2015}}</ref> In 2005, prosecutors in ] accused him of committing war crimes during the wars. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued by ].

He was arrested in Australia in January 2006,<ref name="abc.net.au">{{cite news|title=Captain Dragan: Serbian war crimes suspect Dragan Vasiljkovic extradited from Australia|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/war-crimes-suspect-captain-dragan-extradited-from-australia/6605248|newspaper=]|date=8 July 2015|access-date=9 July 2015}}</ref> and ordered to prison by the ] in anticipation for extradition to Croatia to face prosecution for his alleged crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/high-court-orders-australian-to-croatia-20100330-rb15.html|title=High Court orders Australian to Croatia|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=30 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="NZ_Herald_10644800">{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10644800|title=War crimes suspect hunted down|author=Ansley, Greg|date=14 May 2010|work=]|access-date=29 September 2011}}</ref> He was extradited to Croatia on 8 July 2015 after losing his thirteenth appeal and sentenced to 15 years in prison on 26 September 2017 by the County Court in the city of ].<ref name="abc.net.au"/> Dragan was released from prison in March 2020 after serving his sentence.

==Early life==
Dragan Vasiljković was born on 12 December 1954 in a ] family in ].<ref name="narod.hr">{{cite news|title=Tko je Dragan Vasiljković, poznatiji kao 'Kapetan Dragan'? |url=http://narod.hr/hrvatska/tko-je-dragan-vasiljkovic-poznatiji-kao-kapetan-dragan |newspaper=Narod.hr |date=8 July 2015}}</ref> His father Živorad died in a motorcycle accident while Dragan was still young.<ref name="narod.hr"/> At the age of 3, his mother moved to Australia with her two children from a previous marriage, and Vasiljković ended up in an orphanage and later a foster home.<ref name="narod.hr"/> At the age of thirteen he joined his mother and two siblings in Australia under the name Daniel Snedden.<ref>{{cite web|author=Selma Milovanovic, Sydney|url=http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/captain-dragan-extradited-from-australia-to-face-croatian-court-over-alleged-war-crime/story-fnpjxnlk-1227433778068|title='Captain Dragan' extradited from Australia to face Croatian court over alleged war crime|work=News.com.au|date=8 July 2015}}</ref>

As a juvenile, he ended up in trouble with the law several times. He was accused of ] and selling stolen goods and later was charged with ].<ref name="narod.hr"/> At the suggestion of a judge, he joined the army. He spent 4 years in the ]'s reserve unit ]. After his military service, he served as a weapons instructor in Africa and South America. He was sailing around the world and stayed in Serbia in 1988 where he set up a boat and airplane charter business.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Milekic |first=Sven |date=26 September 2017 |title=Captain Dragan: Notorious Commander Loses Courtroom Battle |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/09/26/serbian-paramilitary-commander-captain-dragan-croatia-conviction-profile-09-26-2017/ |work=]}}</ref> He was convicted of criminal charges in relation to brothel ownership in Elsternwick, a suburb of ], Australia during the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|author=Selma Milovanovic, Sydney |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/exserb-soldier-claims-to-be-hero-20090506-avcb.html |title=Ex-Serb soldier claims to be hero |work=The Age |date=7 May 2009}}</ref> He also worked as a golf instructor in Australia.<ref name="Australian article"/>

==War in Croatia==
He returned to Belgrade in May 1990, as Croatia held ].<ref name="smh">{{cite news|title=Captain Dragan: Serbian war crimes suspect Dragan Vasiljkovic extradited from Australia|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-battle-after-the-war-20081003-4tj7.html|newspaper=]|date=5 October 2008|access-date=10 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="ictytrans">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/030219ED.htm|title=ICTY Transcript|publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=19 February 2003}}</ref> In Belgrade, Vasiljković met Saša Medaković, one of the leaders of the barricades in Krajina following the ] in August.<ref name="ictytrans"/>

Medaković was a friend of ] chief of police ], and was an employee of Krajina state security. Vasiljković visited Krajina in the autumn 1990.<ref name="ictytrans"/> There, he met Martić and claimed that the defence of Krajina appeared "very disorganised".<ref name="ictytrans"/> He thus decided to help organise the Krajina defence. On his return to Belgrade, he attempted to gather support for his effort, and became a member of the opposition ].<ref name=":1" /> He then returned to the United States to complete his aviator training.<ref name="ictytrans"/>

During the ] when the Serbian Renewal Movement's challenge to the government was met with tanks in the streets, Vasiljković was compelled to return there. Srba Milovanov introduced him to several ] personnel, among them ].<ref name="ictytrans"/> Simatović told him of his Krajina-related activities that if his bosses were to learn about it, he would probably be arrested and dismissed.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} On 4 April, Vasiljković went to Krajina to work for Martić.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/transe54/030219ED.htm|title=ICTY|publisher=United Nations|date=5 March 2007}}</ref> On 25 June 1991, Croatia proclaimed its independence; soon after, war broke out in Croatia. He served during the ] under the newly created ] as a volunteer. ] prosecutors claim that this service took place under Serbian police auspices, and media even reported that he claimed this during his testimony at the ] in 2003.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |author=Kim Arlington |date=25 October 2005 |title=Perth man prepared to face war crime claims |url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2005/s1490574.htm |publisher=ABC}}</ref>

He commanded special units known as Red Berets.<ref name=trialwatch>{{cite web|url=http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/dragan_vasiljkovic_478.html|title=Dragan Vasiljkovic|publisher=Trial Watch|date=2007-04-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024091332/http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/dragan_vasiljkovic_478.html|archive-date=2007-10-24}}</ref> He trained units at Krajina's Golubić training camp for which he was allegedly paid by the State Security Service of ];<ref name="Martic judgment">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/martic/trialc/judgement/mar-tcjud070612e.pdf|title=ICTY: Prosecutor vs. Milan Martić (pg. 51–52)|publisher=United Nations|date=5 March 2007}}</ref> he denied this at the Milosevic trial, despite his role as a prosecution witness. He added that the only time that the Serbian State Security paid him was for a 28-day stint in 1997 "to monitor exercises"; his fee was 2,200 dinars.<ref name=":2" /> He was allied with Interior Minister Milan Martić in his power struggle with president ], whom he described as "dishonest, a man who was not of his word."<ref name="icty2">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/030220IT.htm|title=ICTY Transcript|publisher=The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|date=20 February 2003}}</ref> Martić, in contrast, he considered to be "a man of honour and a man of his word."<ref name="icty2"/>

In November 1991, Babić called ] to Knin to help him thwart what he believed to be a coup attempt being planned by Vasiljković himself.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSWWp57ozio |title=Kondicioni Instruktor(Terorista) - Dragan_Vasiljkovic |date=2010-08-21 |last= |access-date=2024-05-15 |via=YouTube}}</ref> According to Šešelj, "Captain Dragan interfered and started a rebellion among the army ranks", and organised a rally of military personnel. The rally, Šešelj said, proved a failure and Babic remained in power.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/icty/transe54/050824IT.htm|title=Icty – Tpiy |publisher=United Nations |date=5 March 2007}}</ref> Šešelj also testified at the Milosevic trial that Vasiljković had a training camp in Golubic. During the war, he founded the ] aimed at helping victims of war.<ref name=":2" />

==Life in Serbia==
After the end of combat in ] and ], Vasiljković returned to Serbia where he lived for several years.<ref name=":0" /> Vasiljković was involved in the Serbian Renewal Movement.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.vesti-online.com/Vesti/Tema-dana/41621/Kapetan-Dragan-Od-imigranta-do-komandanta|title=Kapetan Dragan: Od imigranta do komandanta|publisher=Vesti-online.com}}</ref> He maintained his friendship with Franko Simatović, and in 2001 stated that he would defend him in court if necessary.<ref>, '']''</ref> Simatović was arrested during by the ] and transferred to the ICTY in 2003.<ref name="b92BIO13">{{cite news |date=30 May 2013 |title=Ko su bili Simatović i Stanišić? |url=https://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2013&mm=05&dd=30&nav_id=718565 |accessdate=14 December 2017 |work=B92.net |publisher=B92 |language=sr-Latn-RS |agency=Tanjug}}</ref> Vasiljković reemerged in the spotlight after he testified against ] in 2004 at the ICTY, and subsequently moved back to ], Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/dragan_vasiljkovic_478.html |title=Dragan Vasiljkovic at Trial Watch |publisher=Trial-ch.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024091332/http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/dragan_vasiljkovic_478.html |archive-date=24 October 2007 }}</ref>

==Allegation==
In September 2005, an article in '']'' newspaper accused Vasiljković of war crimes as a Serbian paramilitary commander between 1991 and 1994.<ref name="Australian article">{{cite web|url=http://www.fightdemback.org/2005/09/08/cetniks-on-the-golf-course|title=War crimes accused teaching in Perth|author1=Natasha Robinson |author2=Paige Taylor |work=The Australian|date=8 September 2005|access-date=29 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505055648/http://www.fightdemback.org/2005/09/08/cetniks-on-the-golf-course|archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref> Vasiljković made a short return to Serbia and held a press conference in Belgrade before returning to Australia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Evropa |first=Radio Slobodna |date=2007-12-13 |title=BEOGRAD |url=https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/858513.html |access-date=2024-05-15 |work=Radio Slobodna Evropa |language=sh}}</ref> He lodged a public defamation case against the publishing company ''Nationwide News'' for the article, but in December 2009 the court ruled against Vasiljković, and ordered him to pay them $1.2 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/war-crimes-accused-dragan-vasiljkovic-to-pay-12m-defamation-court-costs/story-e6frg6nf-1226128104652|title=War crimes accused Dragan Vasiljkovic to pay $1.2m defamation court costs|work=The Australian|date=28 September 2012}}</ref>

Vasiljković was arrested on the basis of a Croatian warrant in January.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/war-crimes-suspect-captain-dragan-extradited-from-australia/6605248|title=Captain Dragan: Serbian war crimes suspect Dragan Vasiljkovic extradited from Australia|work=ABC News|date=8 July 2015}}</ref> He is accused by the Republic of Croatia of being responsible for soldiers under his command allegedly torturing, beating and killing captured members of ] and Police between June and July 1991 in a prison on the fortress in Knin,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.javno.com/en-world/captain-dragans-victims-testify-of-war-crimes_254545|title=Captain Dragan's Victims Testify of War Crimes|publisher=Javno.com|date=29 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123064320/http://www.javno.com/en-world/captain-dragans-victims-testify-of-war-crimes_254545|archive-date=23 November 2009}}</ref> and also for making plans to attack and take over the Glina Police station, a near city village Jukince and the villages ] and ] in February 1993 at ] in agreement with the commander of the tank unit JNA.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711170443/http://www.trial-ch.org/en/resources/trial-watch/trial-watch/profiles/profile/478/action/show/controller/Profile.html |date=11 July 2015 }}</ref> It is alleged that during that, in violation of the ], civil buildings were damaged and ruined, Croatian citizens' property was robbed and civilians were wounded and killed, including a German journalist, ].<ref name="aus">{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/50th-birthday-news/australian-justice-delayed-denies-war-victims-of-dragan-vasiljkovic/story-fnmx97ei-1226978286303|title=Australian justice delayed denies war victims of Dragan Vasiljkovic|work=The Australian|date=5 July 2014}}</ref> Those accusations were made public after the newspaper ''The Australian'' reported a story about him.<ref name="Australian article"/>

Vasiljković gave evidence during Milosević's trial at the Hague in 2003 without immunity.<ref name=":3" /> The ICTY named Vasiljković as a "participant in a ]" against Croats and other non-Serbs in the judgement against Martić, but did not request his arrest.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 June 2007 |title=Milan Martić sentenced to 35 years for crimes against humanity and war crimes |url=http://www.icty.org/sid/8870 |work=The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia}}</ref> All of the others named are either already on trial at the Hague or at large.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 March 2007 |title=ICTY: Martić sentence summary |url=https://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215084458/http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e-summary.htm |archive-date=15 December 2007 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> In 2005, ICTY spokesperson ] announced that Vasiljković had been under investigation, but that it had stopped due to the mandate on the tribunal to finish its work.<ref>, ]</ref> Dragan subsequently sued ''The Australian'' for defamation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/dragan-vasiljkovic-extradition-order-to-croatia-set-aside-by-judge/story-e6frg6nf-1226766031009|title=Dragan Vasiljkovic extradition order to Croatia set aside by judge|work=The Australian|date=22 November 2013}}</ref> In July 2007, the Supreme Court held that 6 out of 10 imputations in that article were defamatory.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} However, in December 2009, a judge ruled that Vasiljković "committed torture and rape" and that ''The Australian'' article from 2005 proved that Vasiljković participated and committed the allegations against him.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/captain-dragan-vasiljkovic-committed-torture-and-rape/story-e6frg6nf-1225811909528?from=public_rss|title=Captain Dragan Vaslijkovic 'committed torture and rape'|work=The Australian|date=28 September 2012}}</ref>

==Extradition hearing in Australia==
]

In December 2006, Vasiljković's bid to prevent his extradition hearing from going ahead failed in the Sydney Magistrates Court.<ref name="HCA 2010"/> His grounds of defense were that as a Serbian Captain, he believed that he would be facing a biased Croatian Court and that no evidence of the allegations are required under the Extradition Act 1988,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmhaff/710/710we02.htm |title=Memorandum submitted by the Home Office |website=www.parliament.uk}} section 10.</ref> for an Australian citizen to be extradited.<ref name="HCA 2010"/>

On 12 April 2007, authorities in Sydney granted Croatia's extradition request, with Vasiljković being held pending appeal at ] in its maximum security section on protection. By April 2007, the ] had spent over $500,000 on Vasiljković's defence.<ref>, '']''</ref> An application for bail pending an appeal to the ] was dismissed.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCA|1902|2007|litigants=Snedden v Republic of Croatia |date=12 December 2007 |courtname=auto}}.</ref>

On 3 February 2009, Vasiljković appeal against extradition to Croatia was rejected by the Federal Court.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCA|30|2009|litigants=Snedden v Republic of Croatia |date=3 February 2009 |courtname=auto}}.</ref><ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419200137/http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/legal-procedures/dragan_vasiljkovic_478.html |date=19 April 2009 }}, trial-ch.org; retrieved 5 March 2009.</ref><sup>,</sup> Among those coming to the defence of Vasiljković was the ] bishop of Australia and ], Irinej Dobrijević.<ref>, ]; accessed 30 November 2016.</ref> On 2 September 2009, Federal Court of Australia ruled that "there was a substantial or real chance of prejudice" if he was extradited to Croatia, ordering release, pending appeal.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCAFC|111|2009|litigants=Snedden v Republic of Croatia |date=2 September 2009 |courtname=auto}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Rob|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5811D820090902|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716205848/http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5811D820090902|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 July 2012|title=Accused Serb commander can appeal in Australia|work=Reuters|date=2 September 2009}}</ref> He subsequently walked free from Parklea prison in Sydney's west on 4 September 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Rob|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-09-04/suspected-war-criminal-leaves-sydney-jail/1417968|title=Suspected war criminal leaves Sydney jail|website=] |agency=ABC.net.au|date=4 September 2009}}</ref> The Australian government appealed the ruling, and in March 2010, the High Court of Australia overturned the Federal Court decision and ruled that Vasiljković should be extradited to Croatia.<ref name="HCA 2010">{{cite AustLII|HCA|14|2010||litigants=Republic of Croatia v Snedden |parallelcite=(2010) 241 ] 461}}. {{url|http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2010/hca14-2010-05-19.pdf|judgment summary}}. ].</ref><ref>, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 30 November 2016.</ref> After the ruling, Vasiljković was nowhere to be found, prompting the ] to launch a nationwide manhunt.<ref>, '']''; accessed 30 November 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/31/2861747.htm|title=Police hunt for accused war criminal|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation }}</ref>

==Final arrest and appeals==
Vasiljković was captured by federal police in New South Wales on 12 May 2010, 43 days after his disappearance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/war-crimes-accused-arrested-after-manhunt-20100512-uybk.html|title=War crimes accused arrested after manhunt|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=13 May 2010|last1=Needham|first1=Kirsty|last2=Milovanovic|first2=Selma|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> On 19 May, the Australian Court rejected Vasiljković's defence that Croatian courts would not give him a fair trial and that claims that Croatian courts had been more lenient towards Croats were "scanty" and "feeble".<ref name="HCA 2010"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Kirsty Needham|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/court-rules-to-extradite-vasiljkovic-for-war-trial-20100519-vf8f.html|title=Court rules to extradite Vasiljkovic for war trial|publisher=Brisbanetimes.com.au|date=20 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/high-court-rejected-key-dragan-evidence/story-e6frg6n6-1225868782276?from=public_rss|title=High Court rejected key Dragan Vasiljkovic evidence|work=The Australian|date=28 September 2012}}</ref>

On 16 November 2012, the ] decided to extradite Vasiljković to Croatia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Australci će izručiti Kapetana Dragana Hrvatskoj|url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/australci-ce-izruciti-kapetana-dragana-hrvatskoj-clanak-476138|newspaper=]|date=16 November 2012|language=hr|access-date=16 November 2012}}</ref> Vasiljković challenged the decision to the Federal Court but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCA|1202|2013|litigants=Snedden v Minister for Justice of the Commonwealth |date=15 November 2013 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> Vasiljković appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court, but on 12 December 2014 the Full Court rejected the appeal, clearing him for extradition to Croatia.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCAFC|156|2014|litigants=Snedden v Minister for Justice for the Commonwealth of Australia |date=12 December 2014 |courtname=auto}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/dragan-vasiljkovic-captain-dragan-faces-croatia-extradition/story-e6frg6nf-1227154511839|title=Dragan Vasiljkovic 'Captain Dragan' faces Croatia extradition|work=The Australian|date=12 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dragan Plea Too Little Too Late|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/dragan-plea-too-little-too-late/story-fn59nm2j-1226526101865|newspaper=]|date=29 November 2012|access-date=24 December 2012}}</ref> On 15 May 2015, the ] refused Vasiljković leave to appeal the December 2014 Federal Court ruling due to the unlikelihood of a successful outcome for him.<ref>{{cite AustLII|HCATrans|120|2015|litigants=Snedden v Minister for Justice for the Commonwealth of Australia |date=15 May 2015 |courtname=auto}}.</ref> Following this decision, he had no remaining legal avenue to challenge his extradition.<ref>{{cite news|title=Alleged war criminal Daniel Snedden faces extradition to Croatia after last chance appeal fails|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-15/alleged-war-criminal-faces-extradition-to-croatia/6472632|newspaper=]|access-date=15 May 2015}}</ref>

==Extradition==

On the morning of 8 July 2015, Australia surrendered Vasiljković to Croatian police officers at ], his thirteen separate legal challenges against the extradition process having failed.<ref name="abc.net.au"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/dragan-vasiljkovic-izrucen-hrvatskoj---392245.html|title=NAKON DEVET GODINA Dragan Vasiljković u rukama hrvatske policije!|work=Dnevnik.hr|date=8 July 2015}}</ref> Upon arrival at ] the following day, he was transferred by a high-security police motorcade to an isolated wing of a jail in ].<ref name="dnevnik20150710">{{cite web|url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/dragan-vasiljkovic-na_ispitivanju_u_zdo_u_splitu---392518.html|title=Kapetan Dragan na ispitivanju: 'Nisam kriv!'|work=Dnevnik.hr|date=10 July 2015}}</ref>

==Trial in Croatia==
At his first interview with prosecutors, he stated that he did not feel guilty of the war crimes that they allege he committed, and dismissed his state-appointed attorney.<ref name="dnevnik20150710"/> In July 2016, he entered a formal plea of not guilty to unspecified war crimes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/former-serbian-paramilitary-commander-dragan-vasiljkovic-pleads-not-guilty-to-war-crimes/news-story/de4bb6224e3ed618fa2b4303f89c8fe4|title=Former Serbian paramilitary commander Dragan Vasiljkovic pleads not guilty to war crimes|date=14 July 2016|work=news.com.au|last=Miranda|first=Charles|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> and the trial commenced on 20 September 2016. In September 2017, Vasiljković received a 15-year sentence by the Croatian court in Split.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/dragan-vasiljkovic-war-crimes-hearing-begins-in-croatia/news-story/5e01c8a17044f35549bac38e782d92b2|title=Dragan Vasiljkovic war crimes hearing begins in Croatia|work=The Australian|date=21 September 2016|last=Magnay|first=Jacquelin|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> Upon completion of his sentence, which included the time spent in detention in Australia, he was released from prison on 28 March 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/kapetan-dragan-pusten-iz-zatvora-i-odmah-protjeran-u-srbiju-bio-je-osuden-za-ratne-zlocine-u-kninu-i-glini-nakon-odsluzenja-kazne-odveden-na-bajakovo/10144465/|title=KAPETAN DRAGAN PUŠTEN IZ ZATVORA I ODMAH PROTJERAN U SRBIJU Bio je osuđen za ratne zločine u Kninu i Glini, nakon odsluženja kazne odveden na Bajakovo|date=28 March 2020|work=]|language=hr|access-date=28 March 2020}}</ref>


==References==
{{Reflist}}


==Sources==
'''Dragan Vasiljković''' was born ], ] as an ]. In early ], he was placed in Dom za nezbrinutu decu bez roditelja (a ]) because his ] could not raise three children. Later he went to ] with his mother under the name Daniel Snedden. There he learned the ]s, and he returned during the Croatian war of independence to ] as a ] where he founded the special forces under the Ministry of the Interior of the then Republic of Serbian Krajina (]). These special unit was called ''Knindže'' after the Krajina´s capital of ] and the famous ] fighters, because Dragan´s forces were highly disciplined and scored a number of successful ] actions against croatian ] ]. During the ] he founded the Largest ] Found Kapetan Dragan - helping victims of war. After the war he returned to ]. He was also a presidential candidate of Serbia in ], flew a single engine ] PA32 (N3507W) across ] in ], sailed around the world (SY THYNDERCHILD - cutter rig) and is a Golfer single figure HCP.
* {{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_reg|er20042004n339345|Extradition (Croatia) Regulations 2004}}
* held by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
* {{cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|ea1988149|Extradition Act 1988|7}} Meaning of extradition objection
*
*


==War crimes== ==External links==
{{commons category|Dragan Vasiljković}}
He is accused by the ]:for, in ] and ] 1991. in a ] on a ] ] and in ] ] in Bruška at Benkovac, torturing, beating and killing captured members of ] and ]:for, as the commander of special units in July 1991. in Glina, in agreement with the commander of the tank unit ], making a plan to attack and take over the Glin ], a near city ] Jukince and the villages Gornji i Donji Viduševac. During that attack, against the orders of the ], civil buildings were damaged and ruined, ] were forced to escape, their property was robbed and ] (among them was a foreign journalist) were wounded and killed. Those accusations were made after the journal ] reported a story about him.
*
==Victims==
*
This is a statement from Darko Kaurić, a 41-year old croatian ex policeman who, in the middle of 1991. after Glina fell in the hands of the serbian paramilitary, has suffered beating from members of the squad that was under Kapetan Dragan's command:''Of course i remember him. Last time i saw him i was beaten ] in front of him, so he should remember me too. My ] was broken the first day of ] and despite that, Dragan's men threw me on the floor and beated my head. Our bodies were completely blue and full of ], and they especially liked beating our earlier broken ]. ''Kaurić said that Kapetan Dragan did not personally beat any prisoners, but that he encouraged his subordinates to do so. He also says that during his 50-day imprisonment an ] nicknamed Kapetan Dragan visited him 3 times. His policeman colleague Milan Špoljarić, that was also imprisoned in Glina, said that in everyday beating they regularly beated his broken ]. The journal states that after 15 years both policemen are not capable of normal work, and that they suffer from heavy psychical disturbations. Both croatian policemen say that Kapetan Dragan bragged how he lead the attack on the village in which they were born, in which after it fell was discovered 20 murdered civilians.
*
==Trial==
Recently, there was a false information that said that Kapetan Dragan will be surrendered to Croatia so he could be put on ]. The information was breaking news in Croatia but in Australia it was considered absurd. A debate is scheduled for April 13, 2006.Then, if his ] don't suceed in defending him, the Sidney ] will decide if he should or should not be surrendered to Croatia but then the Australian ] will decide whether to allow it or not, considering that he can change the decisions the court made. Kapetan Dragan is currently waiting in imprisonment.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasiljkovic, Dragan}}
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Latest revision as of 13:08, 3 January 2025

Serb war criminal
Dragan Vasiljković
Vasiljković in 2005
Native nameДраган Васиљковић
Nickname(s)Captain Dragan
Born (1954-12-12) 12 December 1954 (age 70)
Belgrade, PR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Allegiance Australia
Republic of Serbian Krajina
Service / branch Army of Serbian Krajina
Years of service1991–1995
Rank05-Kapetan_VRS_1997 Captain
UnitPatch of the Kninjas Kninjas
Battles / wars
Spouse(s) Nada Lukich-Bruce ​(m. 2010)​

Dragan Vasiljković (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Васиљковић; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed Captain Dragan (Serbian: Капетан Драган, romanized: Kapetan Dragan) is a convicted war criminal and former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit called the Kninjas during the Yugoslav Wars. In 2005, prosecutors in Croatia accused him of committing war crimes during the wars. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued by Interpol.

He was arrested in Australia in January 2006, and ordered to prison by the High Court of Australia in anticipation for extradition to Croatia to face prosecution for his alleged crimes. He was extradited to Croatia on 8 July 2015 after losing his thirteenth appeal and sentenced to 15 years in prison on 26 September 2017 by the County Court in the city of Split. Dragan was released from prison in March 2020 after serving his sentence.

Early life

Dragan Vasiljković was born on 12 December 1954 in a Serbian Orthodox family in Belgrade. His father Živorad died in a motorcycle accident while Dragan was still young. At the age of 3, his mother moved to Australia with her two children from a previous marriage, and Vasiljković ended up in an orphanage and later a foster home. At the age of thirteen he joined his mother and two siblings in Australia under the name Daniel Snedden.

As a juvenile, he ended up in trouble with the law several times. He was accused of robbery and selling stolen goods and later was charged with forcing women into prostitution. At the suggestion of a judge, he joined the army. He spent 4 years in the Australian Army's reserve unit 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse. After his military service, he served as a weapons instructor in Africa and South America. He was sailing around the world and stayed in Serbia in 1988 where he set up a boat and airplane charter business. He was convicted of criminal charges in relation to brothel ownership in Elsternwick, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia during the 1980s. He also worked as a golf instructor in Australia.

War in Croatia

He returned to Belgrade in May 1990, as Croatia held its first parliamentary elections. In Belgrade, Vasiljković met Saša Medaković, one of the leaders of the barricades in Krajina following the Log Revolution in August.

Medaković was a friend of Knin chief of police Milan Martić, and was an employee of Krajina state security. Vasiljković visited Krajina in the autumn 1990. There, he met Martić and claimed that the defence of Krajina appeared "very disorganised". He thus decided to help organise the Krajina defence. On his return to Belgrade, he attempted to gather support for his effort, and became a member of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement. He then returned to the United States to complete his aviator training.

During the March 1991 Belgrade upheaval when the Serbian Renewal Movement's challenge to the government was met with tanks in the streets, Vasiljković was compelled to return there. Srba Milovanov introduced him to several Serbian State Security personnel, among them Franko Simatović. Simatović told him of his Krajina-related activities that if his bosses were to learn about it, he would probably be arrested and dismissed. On 4 April, Vasiljković went to Krajina to work for Martić. On 25 June 1991, Croatia proclaimed its independence; soon after, war broke out in Croatia. He served during the Croatian War of Independence under the newly created Republic of Serbian Krajina as a volunteer. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia prosecutors claim that this service took place under Serbian police auspices, and media even reported that he claimed this during his testimony at the trial of Slobodan Milošević in 2003.

He commanded special units known as Red Berets. He trained units at Krajina's Golubić training camp for which he was allegedly paid by the State Security Service of Serbia; he denied this at the Milosevic trial, despite his role as a prosecution witness. He added that the only time that the Serbian State Security paid him was for a 28-day stint in 1997 "to monitor exercises"; his fee was 2,200 dinars. He was allied with Interior Minister Milan Martić in his power struggle with president Milan Babić, whom he described as "dishonest, a man who was not of his word." Martić, in contrast, he considered to be "a man of honour and a man of his word."

In November 1991, Babić called Vojislav Šešelj to Knin to help him thwart what he believed to be a coup attempt being planned by Vasiljković himself. According to Šešelj, "Captain Dragan interfered and started a rebellion among the army ranks", and organised a rally of military personnel. The rally, Šešelj said, proved a failure and Babic remained in power. Šešelj also testified at the Milosevic trial that Vasiljković had a training camp in Golubic. During the war, he founded the Kapetan Dragan Fund aimed at helping victims of war.

Life in Serbia

After the end of combat in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vasiljković returned to Serbia where he lived for several years. Vasiljković was involved in the Serbian Renewal Movement. He maintained his friendship with Franko Simatović, and in 2001 stated that he would defend him in court if necessary. Simatović was arrested during by the Serbian Police and transferred to the ICTY in 2003. Vasiljković reemerged in the spotlight after he testified against Slobodan Milošević in 2004 at the ICTY, and subsequently moved back to Perth, Western Australia.

Allegation

In September 2005, an article in The Australian newspaper accused Vasiljković of war crimes as a Serbian paramilitary commander between 1991 and 1994. Vasiljković made a short return to Serbia and held a press conference in Belgrade before returning to Australia. He lodged a public defamation case against the publishing company Nationwide News for the article, but in December 2009 the court ruled against Vasiljković, and ordered him to pay them $1.2 million.

Vasiljković was arrested on the basis of a Croatian warrant in January. He is accused by the Republic of Croatia of being responsible for soldiers under his command allegedly torturing, beating and killing captured members of Croatian Army and Police between June and July 1991 in a prison on the fortress in Knin, and also for making plans to attack and take over the Glina Police station, a near city village Jukince and the villages Gornji and Donji Viduševac in February 1993 at Benkovac in agreement with the commander of the tank unit JNA. It is alleged that during that, in violation of the Geneva convention, civil buildings were damaged and ruined, Croatian citizens' property was robbed and civilians were wounded and killed, including a German journalist, Egon Scotland. Those accusations were made public after the newspaper The Australian reported a story about him.

Vasiljković gave evidence during Milosević's trial at the Hague in 2003 without immunity. The ICTY named Vasiljković as a "participant in a joint criminal enterprise" against Croats and other non-Serbs in the judgement against Martić, but did not request his arrest. All of the others named are either already on trial at the Hague or at large. In 2005, ICTY spokesperson Florence Hartmann announced that Vasiljković had been under investigation, but that it had stopped due to the mandate on the tribunal to finish its work. Dragan subsequently sued The Australian for defamation. In July 2007, the Supreme Court held that 6 out of 10 imputations in that article were defamatory. However, in December 2009, a judge ruled that Vasiljković "committed torture and rape" and that The Australian article from 2005 proved that Vasiljković participated and committed the allegations against him.

Extradition hearing in Australia

A poster protesting the extradition of Vasiljković

In December 2006, Vasiljković's bid to prevent his extradition hearing from going ahead failed in the Sydney Magistrates Court. His grounds of defense were that as a Serbian Captain, he believed that he would be facing a biased Croatian Court and that no evidence of the allegations are required under the Extradition Act 1988, for an Australian citizen to be extradited.

On 12 April 2007, authorities in Sydney granted Croatia's extradition request, with Vasiljković being held pending appeal at Parklea Correctional Centre in its maximum security section on protection. By April 2007, the Serbian community of Australia had spent over $500,000 on Vasiljković's defence. An application for bail pending an appeal to the Federal Court of Australia was dismissed.

On 3 February 2009, Vasiljković appeal against extradition to Croatia was rejected by the Federal Court. Among those coming to the defence of Vasiljković was the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Australia and New Zealand, Irinej Dobrijević. On 2 September 2009, Federal Court of Australia ruled that "there was a substantial or real chance of prejudice" if he was extradited to Croatia, ordering release, pending appeal. He subsequently walked free from Parklea prison in Sydney's west on 4 September 2009. The Australian government appealed the ruling, and in March 2010, the High Court of Australia overturned the Federal Court decision and ruled that Vasiljković should be extradited to Croatia. After the ruling, Vasiljković was nowhere to be found, prompting the Australian Federal Police to launch a nationwide manhunt.

Final arrest and appeals

Vasiljković was captured by federal police in New South Wales on 12 May 2010, 43 days after his disappearance. On 19 May, the Australian Court rejected Vasiljković's defence that Croatian courts would not give him a fair trial and that claims that Croatian courts had been more lenient towards Croats were "scanty" and "feeble".

On 16 November 2012, the Australian Government decided to extradite Vasiljković to Croatia. Vasiljković challenged the decision to the Federal Court but was unsuccessful. Vasiljković appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court, but on 12 December 2014 the Full Court rejected the appeal, clearing him for extradition to Croatia. On 15 May 2015, the High Court of Australia refused Vasiljković leave to appeal the December 2014 Federal Court ruling due to the unlikelihood of a successful outcome for him. Following this decision, he had no remaining legal avenue to challenge his extradition.

Extradition

On the morning of 8 July 2015, Australia surrendered Vasiljković to Croatian police officers at Sydney Airport, his thirteen separate legal challenges against the extradition process having failed. Upon arrival at Zagreb International Airport the following day, he was transferred by a high-security police motorcade to an isolated wing of a jail in Split.

Trial in Croatia

At his first interview with prosecutors, he stated that he did not feel guilty of the war crimes that they allege he committed, and dismissed his state-appointed attorney. In July 2016, he entered a formal plea of not guilty to unspecified war crimes, and the trial commenced on 20 September 2016. In September 2017, Vasiljković received a 15-year sentence by the Croatian court in Split. Upon completion of his sentence, which included the time spent in detention in Australia, he was released from prison on 28 March 2020.

References

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Sources

External links

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