Dario Kordić

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Dario Kordić is a former Bosnian Croat politician and military commander of the HVO forces during 1991-1995. He is currently serving a 25 year sentence for war-crimes committed against the Bosniak muslim population during the Bosniak-Croat conflict.

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[edit] Early life

Kordić was born on December 14, 1960 in Sarajevo, Bosnia (then Yugoslavia). He studied political science at the University of Sarajevo and then went into journalism working for the "Vatrostalac" newspaper. Although born in Sarajevo, he lived mostly in Busovača. He has 2 children, a son named Darko and a daughter named Marija.

[edit] 1992-1995

Kordić, like many powerful Croats in Bosnia, was a member of the HDZ-BiH political party. He held very powerful positions during the Bosniak-Croat conflict. Kordić was a key player in the creation of Herzeg-Bosnia during November of 1991, a Croat entity within the boundaries of Bosnia. Apart from being just a politician, he was also a military commander in the Bosnian Croat HVO forces. Kordić had a lot of influence within the Herceg-Bosnia leadership, in which he made political decision and some very important military decisions. He was a key player in the organization and planning of "ethnic-cleansing" against the Bosnian muslims, like it had happened in the Lašva Valley.

[edit] War crimes

In the end, Kordić, like many of the Herzeg-Bosnia leadership and military commanders, was accused of war crimes committed on the Bosniak population. On October 6 of 1997, he voluntarily surrendered to the tribunal and on October 8, pleaded not guilty. He was accused by the Hague for his role in the Lašva Valley massacre, including Ahmici, where HVO forces committed crimes against the local Bosniak population under his command. There were also reports that HVO soldiers, under his command, committed atrocities in and around Zenica. On February 26 of 2001, Kordić was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In June of 2006, he was transferred to a prison in Austria to serve the remainder of his sentence there.


[edit] Sources