ICTY PREDICTS NO PROBLEMS IN BOSKOSKI TRANSFER

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000429

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - KABUMOTO, BENEDICT, PFEUFFER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KAWC MK HR
SUBJECT: ICTY PREDICTS NO PROBLEMS IN BOSKOSKI TRANSFER


Classified By: Ambassador Ralph Frank for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d).


1. (C) Thomas Osorio, head of the ICTY Liaison Office in
Zagreb, told PolOff March 16 the court expects no problems
with the transfer of Ljube Boskoski, former Macedonian
Minister of Interior, from detention in Croatia to The Hague.
The GoC's Office for ICTY Cooperation confirmed for Post
that the indictment released on March 15 has been forwarded
with an arrest warrant and transfer order to the Pula County
Court where Boskoski has been held in the detention center
since August 2004 under Macedonian charges for the 2002
killing of seven economic migrants from Pakistan and India
during his tenure as minister.


2. (C) "This is a dream come true for Croatia," Osorio said,
referring to how the transfer to the ICTY will resolve
Croatia's inability to extradite Boskoski directly back to
Macedonia due to his Croatian citizenship. "There will be no
political resistance to this," he added. The only wrinkle in
the case will be Boskoski's likely appeal of the extradition.
In this case the ICTY will for the first time have to go
through a complete extradition process, which could last
several months. There are, however, no legal barriers to the
extradition, and the Supreme Court is certain to uphold an
extradition order.

FRANK


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