Former Macedonian Minister Indicted For War Crimes

14 March 2005 -- A spokeswoman for the Macedonian Justice Ministry says the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague has indicted former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski for war crimes.
Ministry spokeswoman Mira Ilievska told reporters in Skopje today that the government has received an indictment for Boskovski, charging him with "crimes against the laws or customs of war".

Boskovski is in custody in Croatia charged with the murder of seven Asian migrants in Macedonia in 2002, killings he said were a police action against Islamic terrorists.

Croatia's Justice Ministry today said it is willing to extradite Boskovski to The Hague, because the UN court's statute supersedes national legislation.

UN war crimes tribunal investigators have also questioned him about his role in a clash between Macedonian security forces and ethnic Albanian rebels in the village of Ljubotno near Skopje in 2001 in which 10 Albanians were killed.

Boskovski has denied all charges.

(Reuters/AFP)