Federal authorities have arrested an East Ridge man who may face allegations of being a war criminal from the Bosnian War.
A man going by Sead Dukic, 51, had been living in East Ridge with his wife and daughter at the 1100 block of Tamarack Drive for at least 24 years, according to a federal warrant. He was arrested June 6.
The man has been charged with making a false statement in an application for a passport in April 2017 and making a false statement when using a passport in June of this year. According to officials, the false statements centered around his use of the name Dukic, when his real name is Miljković.
The federal warrant also said Homeland Security investigators received a copy of a “red notice” from Interpol indicating authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are looking for Miljković in connection with allegations he committed war crimes during the Bosnian War.
The war crimes were not specified in the warrant.
Homeland Security investigators used a Tennessee database and various refugee and immigration photos of Dukic to identify him as Miljković, the warrant says.
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“On Feb. 9, 2022, an HSI Chattanooga criminal analyst provided two images of Miljković and one image of Dukic without any identifying information to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Fusion Center and requested they identify matches, through facial recognition comparison, within the Tennessee driver’s license database,” the federal warrant filed June 6 said. “The top matches for all three photographs were driver’s license photographs associated with Dukic.”
Miljković had applied two times with his real name and was declined entry to the U.S., and then a third time applied under the name Dukic and was given entry, according to the federal warrant.
The federal warrant claims Miljković lied in 2017 when he “affirmed” the information in the passport application process was correct when he again claimed he did not have a name change, nor had ever used a different name in the past.
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The Bosnian War was fought in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Broadly accepted independent estimates put the death toll at about 100,000. More than 2 million people were displaced during the conflict, Britannica said. The Bosnian War ended after a final cease-fire was negotiated at Dayton, Ohio.
According to the federal documents, Miljković attempted to enter the U.S. in 1996 and disclosed that he had served in the military in Bosnia-Herzegovina and was deployed to the front lines. His application to enter the U.S. was denied.
Miljković applied again in 1997, and the case was closed “due to abandonment.”
In 1999, Dukic gained entry, according to immigration records known as Alien Files or A-Files, the warrant says.
“The three A-Files related to Miljković and Dukic contained relevant similarities. Notably, each of the A-Files has one or more photos attributed to the applicant,” the federal warrant said. “The photos in all three A-Files appear to be of the same person, showing arched eyebrows and prominent ears. The main differences in appearance can easily be attributed to age and weight gain.”
Federal agents were also able to use fingerprints to positively identify that Miljković and Dukic were the same person, according to the federal warrant.
Miljković was released on a “signature $30,000 bond” imposed on him by U.S. District Judge Christopher Steger, since “evidence before the court does not establish that defendant poses a danger to the community or a risk of flight.”
Miljković’s attorney, Bryan Hoss, declined to comment Tuesday. Miljković is due to appear for arraignment June 28 at 10 a.m.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.