Justice Department Complaint Leads to Revocation of Naturalized Citizenship of Bosnia War Crimes Suspect

On July 17, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee entered an order revoking the citizenship of Sead Miljkovic a/k/a Sead Dukic, who hid his true identity to come to the United States in 1996 and, ultimately, to naturalize as a U.S. citizen in 2007. The court found that Miljkovic illegally procured his citizenship because he lacked the requisite good moral character to naturalize, based on false testimony he provided to Government officials. Miljkovic is a former member of the security forces of the short-lived Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia ("APZB"), who was subject to an arrest warrant issued by a court in Bosnia for war crimes against civilians when the U.S. Government granted him naturalized citizenship.

The warrant, issued on January 23, 2007, led to an INTERPOL Red Notice alleging that, on June 18, 1994, and while acting as a member of the APZB security forces, Miljkovic physically mistreated civilians who were opposed to the APZB government. According to the Red Notice, Miljkovic and accomplices beat twelve civilians with wooden bats and locked them in a morgue for five days without access to light or water. Miljkovic, who consented to the judgment revoking his U.S. citizenship, has not yet appeared before a Bosnian court on these charges.

"This Administration has made it a priority to protect the sanctity of U.S. citizenship," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Civil Division. "If an alien commits heinous acts and comes here to try to hide from the consequences, we will not permit it."

This case was civilly prosecuted by the Justice Department's Office of Immigration Litigation, Denaturalization Unit, with assistance from the U.S Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and ICE's Human Right Violator Law Division, after investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.