NSW: Man accused of war crimes was a hero, defamation case told
20 Apr 2009 2:38 PM
SYDNEY, April 20 AAP - A man accused of being a war criminal was a "Serbian hero" whose life was ruined by an article in The Australian newspaper, a judge has been told.
Nada Lukich-Bruce said Belgrade-born Australian citizen, Dragan Vasiljkovic, also known as Daniel Snedden, told her the article started the process of his extradition.
She was giving evidence in the NSW Supreme Court defamation hearing of Mr Vasiljkovic, 54.
He is suing The Australian's publisher Nationwide News Limited over an article published on September 8, 2005, which included a photograph of Mr Vasiljkovic with a skull.
In 2007, a jury found the article contained a number of meanings which were defamatory, including that he condoned the rape of women and girls, was a mercenary and a Death Squad commander.
Justice Megan Latham is now conducting a hearing in relation to The Australian's defence of some of the meanings being true and on the amount of damages Mr Vasiljkovic should receive if he is successful.
The judge was told Mr Vasiljkovic has been in custody in Sydney's Parklea jail since his arrest in January 2006, after an extradition request from the Republic of Croatia for questioning over alleged war crimes in that country.
He was present in court on Monday, under the guard of two Corrective Services officers.
In February, he lost a Federal Court bid to stop his extradition, a decision he is to appeal.
Ms Lukich-Bruce told the judge she was an Australian citizen whose parents were from Serbia, and she visits Mr Vasiljkovic two or three times a month in jail.
Her father served under him in Serbia and Mr Vasiljkovic's reputation among her father and other Australians was that of a "good commander, a fair man".
"This man was regarded as a Serbian hero," she said.
She said he told her the newspaper article "ruined my life" and had started the extradition process.
The hearing, which is expected to last four weeks, is continuing.
