Mladen Naletilić Tuta (1 December 1946 – 17 December 2021) was a

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs of Bosnia and H ...

paramilitary commander of the "Punishment Battalion" of the

Croatian Defence Council The Croatian Defence Council ( hr, Hrvatsko vijeće obrane or HVO) was the official military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1996. The HVO wa ...

(HVO) convicted for war crimes by the

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

Biography

Naletilić was born in

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. In his youth, Naletilić went to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

under Yugoslavian program of temporary work abroad with the "United Croats of Germany", a Croat emigration agency. He ran a casino in

Singen Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...

, and, according to Miroslav Tuđman, Naletilić was also a

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

. He cooperated with ''

Bundesnachrichtendienst The Federal Intelligence Service (German: ; , BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin and is the world's largest intelligence head ...

'', a German intelligence agency, and the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n Committee for State Security. In 1990 he returned to Croatia and in 1991 he founded a volunteer unit and named it "Convicts' Battalion" ( hr, Kažnjenička bojna). In 1992 when

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

started, "Convicts' Battalion" was replaced in

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

(former Lištica) and they operated in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

. Members of the unit included foreign volunteers such as Germans, the British, the French, Swedes, Paraguayans and Argentines. As part of the

("Convicts' Battalion"), he fought against

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

(JNA) and

Army of Republika Srpska The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

(VRS). He was his unit's commander, under general Ivan Andabak. He was a close friend of then-Croatian Minister of Defence

Gojko Šušak Gojko Šušak (; 16 March 1945 – 3 May 1998) was a Croatian politician who held the post of Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1998 under President Franjo Tuđman. From 1990 to 1991 he was the Minister of Emigration and in 1991 the Deputy Ministe ...

. On 2 August 1992, Naletilić ordered his unit to assassinate

Blaž Kraljević Blaž Nikola Kraljević (19 September 1947 – 9 August 1992) was a Bosnian Croat paramilitary leader who commanded the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) during the Bosnian War. An immigrant to Australia, Kraljević joined the Croatian Revolutionary ...

, general of the

Croatian Defence Forces The Croatian Defence Forces ( hr, Hrvatske obrambene snage or HOS) were the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992, during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. During the Croatian War of Independence, the HOS ...

and general of the

Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH, Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине, ОСБИХ) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herz ...

(ARBiH), along with eight of Kraljević's staff. Naletilić rewarded twenty of the men in the unit with 5,000

Deutschmarks The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...

each. Kraljević had opposed attempts by Croatian president

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...

and his

Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...

(HDZ) party, as well as

Mate Boban Mate Boban (; 12 February 1940 – 7 July 1997) was a Bosnian Croat politician and one of the founders of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, an unrecognized entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the 1st President of Herzeg-Bosnia from ...

and

Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...

to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1993

Jusuf Prazina Jusuf "Juka" Prazina (; 7 September 1962 – 4 December 1993) was a Bosnian soldier during the Bosnian War. A troubled teen, Prazina's youth allegedly contained numerous stays in various jails and correctional facilities of the former Yugoslavia. ...

joined Naletilić's unit. He was one of the organizers of the defence of Sarajevo and also a criminal. When the Croat-Bosniak War broke out in 1992, "Convicts' Battalion" fought against ARBiH in Jablanica, Doljani and Vakuf. On 17 April 1993, his unit attacked the village of

Sovići Sovići (Serbian Cyrillic: Cовићи) is a village in the Municipality of Grude in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Demographics According to the 1991 Yugoslav census, there were 2 ...

and conducted forcible transfer of Bosniaks. On 9 May 1993, members of the "Convicts' Battalion" were involved in the siege of eastern

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

. In November 1993, Naletilić was in personal conflict with general

Slobodan Praljak Slobodan Praljak (; 2 January 1945 – 29 November 2017) was a Bosnian Croat who served in the Croatian Army and the Croatian Defence Council, an army of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, between 1992 and 1995. Praljak was found guilty of ...

of the HVO and thus reportedly forced to leave his post as Chief of Staff of the HVO. In 1994, Naletilić opposed the truce between Croats and Bosniaks and also opposed the abolition of

Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia ( hr, Hrvatska Republika Herceg-Bosna) was an unrecognized geopolitical entity and quasi-state in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was proclaimed on 18 November 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bos ...

, an unrecognized entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, bitterly accusing

and Franjo Tuđman of treason. After the war ended, he left the army. In 1997, he was arrested and convicted of the murder of Robert Nosić, a military policeman and member of

from

Ljubuški Ljubuški is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the West Herzegovina Canton, a unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravica cascades lie within the municipality, near the settlement of Studenci ...

. Naletilić spent two years in Remetinec prison. Due to health problems he was transferred to

University Hospital Centre Zagreb The University Hospital Centre (sometimes also Clinical Hospital Centre, hr, Klinički bolnički centar Zagreb, KBC) in Zagreb, Croatia, is the largest hospital in Croatia and the teaching hospital of the University of Zagreb. It serves most of Ce ...

on 14 November 1999. In March 2000, Naletilić was extradited to the

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, and convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes during the Croat-Bosniak War. On 24 April 2008, he was transferred to serve his sentence in Italy. Credit was given for time served since 18 October 1999. Early release was granted on 29 November 2012 and Naletilić was released from prison on 18 February 2013. He died on 17 December 2021, at the age of 75.Преминуо ратни злочинац Младен Налетилић Тута

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naletilic Tuta, Mladen 1946 births 2021 deaths People extradited from Croatia Croatian Defence Council soldiers People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia People from Široki Brijeg Croatian people convicted of war crimes Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina convicted of crimes against humanity Croatian nationalists