According to a 6 February 1998 Agence France Presse (AFP) news dispatch, rebel Muslim leader Fikret Abdic, "a wealthy businessman," has been living in Croatia since the end of the conflict and is currently facing charges of having committed war crimes in Bosnia. One of his associates, Ibrahim Djedovic, was arrested in May 1997 in Sarajevo while performing his duties as elected member of the Bosnian parliament, and appeared in court on 6 February 1998 for crimes committed against civilians and prisonners of war in 1994 (ibid.).

According to a Los Angeles Times article published in the 2 November 1997 issue of The Dallas Morning News, Fikret Abdic and his followers are considered as "absolute enemies of Bosnia-Herzegovina."

A 9 December 1997 Warreport article states that Fikret Abdic's Democratic People's Union (DNZ) won the September 1997 municipal elections in Velika Kladusa, near Bihac, and that most of the DNZ elected deputies were living in Croatia.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Agence France Presse (AFP). 6 February 1998. "Rebel Moslem Aide in Court for Crimes Against Bosnian Civilians." (NEXIS)

The Dallas Morning News. 2 November 1997. Tracy Wilkinson. "Alleged Traitor's Fate Tests Bosnia Justice; Rights Groups Question Imprisonment of Legislator by Mostly Muslim Government." (NEXIS)

Warreport [London, in English]. 9 December 1997. "Bosnia-Herzegovina: Elections Results not Being Implemented." (FBIS-EEU-97-343 17 Dec. 1997/WNC)