A federal grand jury in the District of Idaho returned an indictment last week charging Miran Kostic, 66, of Boise, Idaho, a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with lying while attempting to obtain U.S. citizenship, according to a July 24 announcement.
According to court documents, Kostic was a high-level official in the so-called Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. In that role, he pistol-whipped prisoners, beat them with wooden clubs and stakes as well as his fists, kicked them until they lost consciousness, forced prisoners to beat each other, and ordered others to do the same. The indictment alleges that Kostic lied about these abuses and failed to disclose charges filed against him in Bosnia and Herzegovina for war crimes when applying for U.S. citizenship or during interviews with the FBI and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Kostic is charged with attempted naturalization fraud and making material false statements to law enforcement agents. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of attempted naturalization fraud and five years for the false statements charge.
“Miran Kostic benefited from U.S. residency for decades and ultimately attempted to become a naturalized citizen, all while concealing the human rights abuses he committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Individuals who commit atrocities abroad and lie to immigration authorities to seek safe haven in the United States will be investigated and prosecuted. The integrity of our naturalization process and the enforcement of our immigration laws are paramount concerns.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud to work with our partners to ensure federal immigration laws are followed and are properly enforced,” said U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis for the District of Idaho.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle; FBI; Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators & War Crimes Center; U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection & National Security; FBI’s International Human Rights Unit; Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; Ministry of Justice of Bosnia & Herzegovina; United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Trial Attorney Elizabeth Nielsen from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights & Special Prosecutions Section along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Horwitz are prosecuting this case.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators residing in the United States are encouraged by authorities to contact either FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI or through its online tip form at www.tips.fbi.gov, or Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through ICE’s online tip form at www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.
An indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The office prosecuting this case—the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho—functions under federal authority across both urban centers like Boise as well as rural areas throughout Idaho using main offices plus branches staffed by approximately 60 personnel including attorneys, according to the official website.