Croatia will request from France the extradition of 47-year-old Milorad Momic, a former member of the Serb paramilitary forces "Scorpions" arrested in southeast France earlier this week.
Croatia will request his extradition and the necessary documentation is being collected, Justice Ministry spokesperson Vesna Dovranic said on Saturday, adding that the ministry was waiting for a notification from French authorities so that it could forward an official extradition request.
Croatian authorities have issued a warrant for Momic's arrest on charges of war crimes in eastern Slavonia, officials at the Vukovar County Court confirmed.
Momic was arrested near Grenoble on Monday on a European arrest warrant issued by Serbian authorities which charge him with crimes against humanity and involvement in the killing of around 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.
Momic is in extradition custody, and under international conventions extradition custody can last up to 40 days during which time countries looking for the fugitive can request his extradition.
The Croatian Helsinki Human Rights Committee (HHO) on Friday warned that it had been informed by the French branch of the Helsinki Human Rights Committee that Momic could be released in six days.
If Croatia does not request his extradition or consent to his extradition to the countries in the region (Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) where the Scorpions also committed crimes, Momic will be released in six days, the HHO said.
Momic was arrested while on his way to work. He worked for a construction company and hid in France under the false identity of Guy Monier.
The Scorpions, who were under the command of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, took part in the conflicts in Croatia (1991-1995), Bosnia (1992-1995) and Kosovo (1998-1999).
Four members of those paramilitary forces were convicted by a Serbian court in 2007 to prison sentences of up to 20 years.
