British locksmith arrested for war crimes massacre of 260 prisoners in Balkans war

Locksmith Milorad Pejic, 36, was held under an international warrant in connection with the slaughter of 260 people in 1991, one of the worst atrocities in the Balkan wars.

Mr Pejic, who lives in Corby, Northamptonshire, with his wife and sons of eight and 14, is accused of being a member of a Serb paramilitary group involved in savage "ethnic cleansing" as Croatia fought for its independence from Yugoslavia. He obtained British citizenship after a decade in Northamptonshire.

Scroll down for more...

His unit is said to have rounded up hundreds of Croatian men - and one woman - from a hospital in the town of Vukovar after it was overrun by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav Army.

They were taken to the Ovcara pig farm two miles away where they were tortured and eventually murdered. Some 260 bodies were later recovered from a mass grave.

Mr Pejic, who was born in Vukovar, where his mother still lives, was arrested in the Serb capital Belgrade last week after going to see a cousin who is ill.

A spokesman for the Serbian War Crimes Council said the arrest warrant was issued in December 2003 but British authorities had refused to extradite Mr Pejic - a claim a Home Office source denied.

Mr Pejic's wife, Ljubica Dokic, 38, said last night: "I haven't been able to speak to him and I'm worried sick.

"He's innocent. He's a good father and husband and a hard worker. We don't deserve this. I don't know what I can tell the boys. I think the eldest understands but with the young one it's hard."

The couple recently bought a three-bedroom terraced home for £110,000 and both boys attend local schools.

Scroll down for more...

They are members of the congregation at the Serbian orthodox church which Mr Pejic helped build soon after arriving in Britain.

They lead a quiet life, occasionally going to a private club half a mile away where many of the town's 2,000- strong Serbian community drink.

Ellen Vuckovic, whose husband is priest at the St Prophet Eliah Church, said: "They are very unassuming, quiet people. They're regular churchgoers and his younger son was baptised here.

"One of the boys' godfathers has been going round the community collecting money because he was the main bread winner for the family.

"We are really worried about his wife, who has been hysterical."

Scroll down for more...

In Vukovar Mr Pejic's mother, Ana, 70, said: "My son has been set up by someone, they pinned this on him. He never did anything wrong. He was only 19.

"I was worried about him going to Belgrade but he said he had nothing to fear as he was innocent.

"He always wanted to set the record straight and he always said that the truth would come to light."

Scroll down for more...

Mr Pejic's mother is the only member of his immediate family still living in Vukovar. His father died six years ago and his brother was killed in the war in 1991.

In December 2005, 14 former soldiers were jailed for up to 20 years over the Ovcara massacre.

A spokesman for the Serbian War Crimes Council said last night there was "substantial evidence" against Mr Pejic.

Witnesses had identified him as taking part in the slaughter.