Friday, September 12, 2008

Whitehall man faces deportation in Bosnian murder case (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Whitehall man faces deportation in Bosnian murder case

By Jason Cato
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 11, 2008

Federal prosecutors today will begin court proceedings to deport a Whitehall man facing a murder charge in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Immigration agents on Wednesday arrested Sadik Begic, 38, of Parkline Drive and are detaining him on behalf of the Bosnian government.

Court records unsealed today reveal that Begic was indicted for murder in the "Basic Court of Srebrenica" in January 1995 by the Bosnian District Military Court. He is accused of using a Kalashnikov rifle on Oct. 9, 1993, to kill Alemic Ibis.

Six eyewitnesses corroborated Begic's role in the crime, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Downtown.

Witnesses said Begic had been drinking heavily at a party and began firing live rounds from an automatic rifle. The complaint said his behavior alarmed others at the party.

After a burst of gunfire, Ibis cried out in pain before dying, the complaint states.

Witnesses said Begic was the only person present firing a weapon. Begic told Bosnian investigators that the weapon discharged accidentally and he was not aware that anyone had been shot when he left he party, the complaint states.

He is accused of fleeing Bosnia and Herzegovia to Pittsburgh.

Begic is expected to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amy Reynolds Hay.

No comments: