Kemal Mrndzic, 52, a former supervisor at the Celebici prison camp during the 1990s Bosnian conflict, was sentenced to 65 months in prison by a federal court in Boston. He was convicted of concealing his role in the persecution of ethnic Serbs at the camp in order to gain refugee status and later U.S. citizenship. Mrndzic had been found guilty by a jury for hiding his involvement in the events at the Celebici camp, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Details emerging from the trial revealed that Mrndzic, a particularly brutal guard at the Celebici camp, was involved in horrific acts of torture and abuse, including beatings with baseball bats and rifle butts, forcing prisoners into dark, airless holes, and carrying out extreme acts such as burning a detainee's tongue with a heated knife and setting another on fire with explosive fuse cord. Though the United Nations tribunal had previously convicted top commanders and a notorious guard for these crimes, Mrndzic had evaded justice until survivors testified against him. He had entered the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, later becoming a naturalized citizen in 2009, while concealing his past by falsely claiming he was a victim of Serb forces, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Survivors' testimonies about harsh conditions, including limited food and cold sleeping arrangements, contributed to the conviction of Mrndzic. One witness described the murder of a 70-year-old detainee. The conviction followed a collaborative effort by U.S. and international agencies. Mrndzic will serve three years of supervised release after his prison term, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
