Defendant concealed his involvement in the persecution of Serb prisoners at the Celebici prison camp in Bosnia
United States Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts, October 21, 2024
Trial evidence depicting Kemal Mrndzic at the Celebici prison camp in wartime Bosnia in 1992. Photo: U.S. DOJ Office District of Massachusetts
BOSTON – A Swampscott, Mass. man was convicted on Oct. 18, 2024, following a two-week jury trial in Boston, of a 25-year scheme to conceal his persecution of ethnic Serbs during the Bosnian War. He was also convicted of making false claims to become a refugee to the United States and ultimately a United States citizen.
Kemal Mrndzic, 52, was convicted of engaging in a scheme to conceal his involvement in persecution of Serb prisoners at the notorious Celebici prison camp in Bosnia in 1992; 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. The jury acquitted him of two counts of making false statements to a Homeland Security Investigations special agents. In June 2023, Mrndzic was indicted by a federal grand jury.
“The heartbreaking testimony of the Celebici survivors reminded us that the physical pain and mental anguish inflicted by Kemal Mrndzic and his fellow guards at that notorious camp still haunts them 30 years later,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Mrndzic concealed his crimes for decades, but gravely underestimated the bravery of these victims and law enforcement’s dedication to finding and prosecuting those who engage in wartime persecution. Investigating and prosecuting these historical transnational cases demands extraordinary commitment and we are deeply grateful for the exceptional work of our federal law enforcement partners and our partners in countries across the globe.”
“A jury found Mrndzic guilty of lying about his past to come to the U.S. under false pretenses, concealing his work as a guard at the notorious Celebici prison camp, a prison with well-documented cases of violence, abuse and even murder of prisoners during the Bosnian War,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England. “HSI continues to use our international reach and regional expertise to uncover the past and bring to justice those who lie to undeservingly seek refuge in the U.S. We want to express our deep gratitude to the bravery of the survivors who came forward to testify during this trial.”
Mrndzic served as a supervisor of the guards at a notorious prison camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the sectarian war which fractured the country in the 1990s. Five camp survivors testified at trial, recounting the horrific conditions at the Celebici camp in 1992 when Mrndzic was a supervisor there. Survivors testified about their detention in a lightless, airless tunnel for months on end, their near suffocation after being sealed in manholes for hours at a time, and the daily and nightly beatings that were administered by the guards at the camp — with baseball bat, wooden poles and rifle buts. The survivors testified to murders, the burning of one detainee’s tongue with a heated knife blade, the wrapping of another detainee with a long fuse cord and then lighting it on fire, sexual abuse, and other harrowing acts committed over a period of many months. One survivor recounted the beating death of a 70-year-old detainee whom guards pinned a military badge to his forehead while he was still dying. Survivors also testified about being starved and deprived of the most basic needs, including sleeping on the concrete floor of a sheet metal hanger for months on end while being fed only a slice of bread a day.
A United Nations tribunal investigated the crimes committed at Celebici in the 1990s and convicted the two top commanders of the camp and one particularly sadistic guard on numerous crimes including murder and torture. While Mrndzic was interviewed by investigators in connection with that case in 1996, he was not charged by international authorities. Mrndzic subsequently concocted a scheme to leave Bosnia by crossing the border into Croatia and applying as a refugee to the United States using a fabricated story. In his refugee application and interview, he falsely claimed that he fled his home after he was captured, interrogated and abused by Serb forces, and could not return home for fear of future persecution. As the government argued at trial, Mrndzic used his own experience as a persecutor to press a false narrative that he had been persecuted. He was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, and ultimately became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009.
Additional trial evidence of Mrndzic. Photo: U.S. DOJ Office District of Massachusetts
The charges of using a fraudulently obtained passport and fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The three remaining charges each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; HSI SAC Krol; Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office; Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Jennifer De La O, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office made the announcement. This matter was investigated with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the United States Interagency Human Rights Violators & War Crimes Center and the United States Citizen and Immigration Service. Assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the United States Embassies in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Helsinki. The Australian Federal Police, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Ministry of Justice, Serbian Ministry of Justice, law enforcement authorities in Finland and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police all provided valuable assistance. The Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office and Swampscott (Mass.) Police Department also provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. McNeil and Jason A. Casey of the National Security Unit are prosecuting the case.