Balkan States Expand Extradition Agreements

Snezana Malovic, Serbian Justice Minister | Photo by FoNet

Justice ministers from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia have agreed in principle to expand existing extradition treaties. According to the ministers, an expert group will work out the details.

The move was prompted by the case of Dragan Paravinja, who has both Serbian and Croatian citizenship, and is suspected of rape in both countries as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Serbia and Croatia signed an agreement to extradite organized crime suspects last June. A similar agreement between Serbia and Bosnia is to take effect once provisions in the Bosnian constitution have been amended.

On Friday, Croatia and Macedonia initialed a new extradition agreement designed to bolster efforts against organized crime, corruption and money-laundering.

Macedonian Justice Minister Mihajlo Manevski, who attended the signing, said the agreement would be forwarded to the countries’ governments for ratification. He expects it to be in force by the end of September.

Teams from Macedonia and Serbia started talks on a similar treaty in Skopje on Tuesday. That agreement is expected to be signed soon.