Will the Nikšić resident Ranko Radulović to stand trial in Montenegro on charges that he committed war crimes in Foča in 1992 will be known after the final decision of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on whether to transfer the case to Podgorica.
The decision is being held back by a legal deficiency, namely the fact that Montenegro has not yet officially submitted to the Court of BiH confirmation that Radulović was extradited to Podgorica this summer and is being held in custody in Spuž.
Judging by the response from the Court of BiH, they are one step away from deciding on the possible transfer of the case to Podgorica, because the local Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against the controversial businessman and former owner of FC “Čelik” in 2020, on charges that he committed war crimes in the early 90s in the Foča area.
In its response to “Vijesti”, the Court of BiH stated that it is currently in the process of deciding on the proposal of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to transfer the criminal prosecution of Ranko Radulović to the competent authority of Montenegro.
“After the competent authorities of Montenegro, at the request of the Court of BiH, officially submit the requested information about the accused Radulović, the Court will make a decision on the aforementioned proposal,” the Court of BiH’s response states.
When asked specifically by “Vijesti” what documentation was expected, they explained that it was necessary for them to receive official notification from Montenegro about whether the accused Radulović had been extradited to Podgorica at all.
“The Court has not received any requests from the competent authorities of Montenegro for the transfer of criminal prosecution of the named person. The cooperation of the Court of BiH with the High Court in Podgorica, as well as with all other courts, when necessary, is carried out in accordance with the relevant legal regulations governing the matter of international legal assistance,” the Court of BiH states.
Ranko Radulović was indicted for war crimes committed in the territory of Foča five years ago in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the process has not progressed far because he was inaccessible to that country for years.
In BiH, defendants cannot be tried in absentia, and Montenegro is not obligated to extradite its citizens to that country on war crimes charges.
The indictment of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, which Vijesti has had access to, charges Ranko Radulović with committing crimes in the wider area of Foča, located about thirty kilometers from the border with Montenegro, between the end of July and the end of August 1992, as a member of a paramilitary formation.
The indictment charges him with participating in the illegal, arbitrary and military-unjustified destruction of property on a large scale in the area of the village of Kobilja Ravan and the hamlet of Falovići, together with another dozen uniformed and armed soldiers of Serbian and Montenegrin ethnicity, who were members of a military unit under the command of Dragoljub Kunarac, known as Žaga.
General Kunarac was sentenced to 27 years in prison in The Hague for war crimes in the area of Foča.
“Members of Žaga’s unit together, including Ranko Radulović, set fire to all the houses in the village,” the BiH indictment states.
He is also accused of participating in the illegal detention of Bosniak civilians on July 28, 1992, in the area of the Foča municipality, abusing and beating them, and then, together with others from his formation, handing over several prisoners to the Army of Republika Srpska.
Radulović is also charged with participating in the unlawful detention of seven Bosniak girls, who were taken from a school in the Kalinovik municipality, in early August of that year, and aiding or participating in forcing them to have sexual intercourse (rape).
The War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has also collected horrifying evidence about these crimes, and “Vijesti” has collected extensive documentation, namely numerous testimonies from the girls, which are kept in the archives of the International Residual Mechanism in The Hague.
The Tribunal collected evidence and testimonies about the rape of girls, mostly minors at the time, whom Radulović and other members, as alleged in the prosecution’s files, held in slavery, during the trial of Dragoljub Kunarac and members of his unit.
The Court of BiH makes a decision on the possible transfer of a case based on the relevant provisions of the Law on International Legal Assistance as well as on the basis of the concluded agreement between Montenegro and BiH on legal assistance in civil and criminal matters.
The indictment of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which “Vijesti” had access to, charges Ranko Radulović with committing crimes in the wider area of Foča, which is located about thirty kilometers from the border with Montenegro, in the period from late July to late August 1992 as a member of paramilitary formations.
In October last year, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office sent a general letter to the countries of the region – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo – requesting information about Montenegrin citizens for whom there is evidence that they may have committed war crimes.
With that letter, the SDT initiated the transfer of these cases to Montenegro by sending a letter to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, but they did not state a request for an individual case regarding the participation of Montenegrin citizens in paramilitary formations during the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Ranko Radulović, a resident of Nikšić, was extradited from Belgrade to Montenegro in July 2025 to serve a two-year and three-month prison sentence for assaulting an official, as well as the remaining three-month sentence for endangering security. In addition, proceedings are being conducted against him on reasonable suspicion that he committed the crimes of creating a criminal organization, aggravated murder by incitement, usury, and the rape of a girl in Nikšić.
Malović: There is no reason for justice to be slowed down any longer
Legal advisor of Action for Human Rights Bojana Malović She stated that the numerous criminal proceedings initiated in Montenegro against Ranko Radulović clearly show that the Nikšić native will no longer be available to the BiH authorities, which is why “instead of waiting in uncertainty for his possible appearance before the Court of BiH, it is more expedient to transfer the proceedings to Montenegro in order to finally examine his responsibility for the acts he is charged with.”
“In addition to the extradition certificate, Montenegro should also submit to the BiH court certificates of the sentences Radulović is serving and the proceedings being conducted against him, in order to confirm that he will not be available to the BiH authorities until further notice. Any further delay in the decision to transfer the case would only lead to a delay in the proceedings and a slowdown in the delivery of justice. That is why we are continuously appealing for this case to be transferred to the Montenegrin authorities,” she explained.
In addition, as Malović stated, the possibility of ensuring the presence of the defendant is greater in Montenegro than in BiH, as is the possibility of enforcing a possible verdict.
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