A former Bosnian prison camp guard is convicted of lying to get refugee status and US citizenship

BOSTON — (AP) — A Bosnian man living in Massachusetts has been convicted of lying to get refugee status and U.S. citizenship by covering up his role as a supervisor of guards at a notoriously harsh and violent wartime prison camp where Serbians were killed, sexually assaulted, tortured and starved three decades ago.

Kemal Mrndzic, 52, had been living in the seaside town of Swampscott, north of Boston, before survivors of the Celebici prison camp identified him as being involved in the beatings and other abuses committed there in 1992, federal authorities said.

He was convicted in federal court on Friday of scheming to conceal his involvement in the persecution of those prisoners; making a false statement to Homeland Security agents about his role at the camp; possessing a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate and Social Security card; and using a fraudulently obtained passport and certificate of naturalization.

He faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fines on the most serious counts. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025.

The jury acquitted Mrndzic, who was indicted in 2023, of two counts of making false statements to Homeland Security investigators.

Mrndzic pleaded not guilty and his lawyers asked for an acquittal, saying the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction on any of the charges.

An email seeking comment from his lead attorney, Brendan Kelley, was sent on Tuesday.

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia found that guards at the camp killed, sexually assaulted and tortured Serbian prisoners. Three other former guards were convicted of participating in the persecution. While Mrndzic was interviewed by investigators in connection with that case in 1996, he was not charged by international authorities, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said numerous survivors later identified Mrndzic as being involved in the beatings and other abuses committed there during the 1992-1995 war that killed more than 100,000 people following the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Five camp survivors testified at trial, recounting the horrific conditions at the Celebici camp in 1992 when prosecutors said Mrndzic was a supervisor there. They spoke of near suffocation, beatings, murders, torture, sexual abuse, and starvation.

Prosecutors said Mrndzic crossed the Bosnian border into Croatia and applied as a refugee to the United States. In his refugee application and interview, he falsely claimed that he fled after he was captured, interrogated and abused by Serb forces, and could not return home for fear of future persecution. He was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009, prosecutors said.

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