Djordje Radujkovic, 55, spent much of his youth trying to escape the wars – those that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s. Now, the memory of those conflicts has caught up with him. On May 10, Radujkovic, who became a naturalized French citizen in 2010, was arrested in Slovenia in front of his family. The arrest was based on a European arrest warrant issued by Croatia, which he claims to have known nothing about. The Croatian courts had convicted him in absentia, after a series of military and criminal decisions, and sentenced him to 20 years in prison for the murders of three Croatian police officers in August 1991, two months after Croatia unilaterally declared its independence. In the Krajina region, the local Serb community, backed by Belgrade, had risen up and carried out many killings and acts of sabotage, in what was called the "Log Revolution," as they blocked roads with tree trunks.
Radujkovic has denied the allegations. His family fears he may be targeted by "reprisals" if he were extradited to Croatia. "We have reasons to believe this is revenge, and that he is in danger," said Chloé P., 34, his step-daughter, who lives in the French city of Lyon.
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