Swampscott Man Accused Of 1990s War Crimes In Bosnia Charged

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A Swampscott man accused of falsifying a story about being the victim of war crimes in Bosnia in the 1990s, when he was actually involved with committing those crimes as a prison camp guard supervisor, was charged with making fraudulent claims to gain entry into the United States and become a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Kemal Mrndzic, 50, was charged on Wednesday with a series of crimes, including "falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact from the U.S. government by trick, scheme or device."

The complaint affidavit said Mrndzic was a guard supervisor at a notorious Celebici prison camp during the 1990s sectarian war where a United Nations International Criminal Tribunal found that guards "committed numerous murders, rapes, and had engaged in torture and other forms of persecution of Serb prisoners at the camp."

Mrndzic was arrested on Wednesday and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston before Chief Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley, was released on a $30,000 cash bond.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said three of Mrndzic's fellow guards were convicted by the tribunal after a trial in the Hague at which survivors testified to the harrowing prison camp conditions. According to the complaint, numerous survivors have since identified Mrndzic as being involved in the beatings and other abuses committed there.

Mrndzic is accused of creating a scheme to flee the country into Croatia and then applying as a refugee to the United States using a fabricated story that he was a victim of the abuse who was captured, interrogated and abused by Serb forces.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said he was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, and ultimately became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009.

Celebici Camp survivors and family members who have information about the operation of the Camp, or have questions regarding this matter, are encouraged to call the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 888-221-6023 or send an email to: usma.victimassistance@usdoj.gov.

Those calling should indicate if you would prefer to be contacted in English or Serbo-Croatian.