Muhamed Sacirbey
Encyclopedia
Muhamed Sacirbey is a Bosnian American
lawyer
, businessman and diplomat. Sacirbey rose to prominence in the 1990s when Bosnia and Herzegovina
appointed him to be its ambassador to the United Nations
. Sacirbey also served briefly as the Bosnian foreign minister. Subsequently he became embroiled in a controversy regarding embezzlement and misappropriation of funds belonging to the Bosnian government.
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
which was then a part of the Yugoslavia
(SFR Yugoslavia). Both of Sacirbey's parents were doctors. His father is Nedžib Šaćirbegović (born 1926), a friend of Alija Izetbegović
, the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. Izetbegović and Sacirbey were imprisoned for opposing the communist government of SFR Yugoslavia following World War II
.
In 1963, the family left SFY Yugoslavia due to his father's anti-communist politics and lived for a while in Turkey
before settling in the United States
in 1967. The Šaćirbegović family lived in Parma, Ohio
a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio
and became naturalized citizens in 1973. It was at this point that the family name was changed to Sacirbey. Sacirbey attended Valley Forge High School
in Parma Heights, Ohio
Sacirbey attended Tulane University
in New Orleans on a football
scholarship
and subsequently received a law degree from Tulane Law School and an MBA at Columbia Business School
. Sacirbey served as legal counsel to Standard & Poor's
. Most of Sacirbey's professional career was spent as an investment banker on Wall Street
.
Sacirbey has a younger brother Omar, who is a journalist in Boston
. In the 1990s their mother Aziza had a street named after her in Sarajevo.
began in April 1992, Sacirbey offered his services to the Bosnian government and became Bosnia's first ambassador to the United Nations
. He began his term on May 22, 1992, the day that Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to the UN. During the war, he made many impassioned pleas for the lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian government and made repeated calls for the UN to protect the so-called safe areas from indiscriminate attacks. He traveled the world in a bid for support and funds.
In May 1995 the foreign minister
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Irfan Ljubijankić
was assassinated. Sacirbey was appointed to replace him for a brief period.
In November 1995, he accompanied the Bosnian delegation to the peace negotiations in Dayton, Ohio
. The settlement came to be known as the Dayton Accords.
, who was the foreign minister at the time.
Sacirbey denied stealing any money and said the entire affair was fabricated by political opponents in Bosnia, particularly Serbs and those who opposed his wartime advocacy. He also stated he spent up to $800,000 of his own money to cover Bosnia's diplomatic expenses. Sacirbey has also questioned the legitimacy of the 1902 extradition treaty under which he is being extradited. The treaty is between the US and Serbia. In 1902 Bosnia was under the rule of Austria Hungary, it was not joined in a single state with Serbia until 1918.
On January 29, 2002 the BiH government formally asked the US to extradite Sacirbey. He was arrested on March 25, 2003 at his home in Staten Island
. Sacirbey spent the next 16 months at the Metropolitan Correctional Center
in New York. He was released on July 27, 2004 on $6 million bail.
On January 19, 2005 he was certified by a federal magistrate in New York as extraditable. Sacirbey appealed his certification by filing a habeas corpus
petition on March 21, 2005 before a federal district judge. In September 2006, the district judge denied his petition for habeas corpus relief and ruled that he was extraditable. Sacirbey appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
.
On December 9, 2009 Appeals court ruled that Sacirbey could not be extradited.
Bosnian American
Bosnian Americans are Americans whose ancestry can be traced to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A large majority of Bosnian Americans emigrated to the United States during and after the Bosnian war which lasted from 1992-1995. History of Bosnian arrivals to the United States, however, dates back to as far...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, businessman and diplomat. Sacirbey rose to prominence in the 1990s when Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
appointed him to be its ambassador to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Sacirbey also served briefly as the Bosnian foreign minister. Subsequently he became embroiled in a controversy regarding embezzlement and misappropriation of funds belonging to the Bosnian government.
Early life
Muhamed Sacirbey was born Muhamed Šaćirbegović in SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
which was then a part of the Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
(SFR Yugoslavia). Both of Sacirbey's parents were doctors. His father is Nedžib Šaćirbegović (born 1926), a friend of Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
, the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. Izetbegović and Sacirbey were imprisoned for opposing the communist government of SFR Yugoslavia following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1963, the family left SFY Yugoslavia due to his father's anti-communist politics and lived for a while in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
before settling in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1967. The Šaćirbegović family lived in Parma, Ohio
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and became naturalized citizens in 1973. It was at this point that the family name was changed to Sacirbey. Sacirbey attended Valley Forge High School
Valley Forge High School
Valley Forge High School is located in Parma Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. It is one of three high schools in the Parma City School District, which is one of the largest school districts in the state of Ohio, serving the cities of Parma, Parma Heights, and Seven Hills. The school's colors...
in Parma Heights, Ohio
Parma Heights, Ohio
There are seven council members serving at large. Every two years there is an election. Four positions are open. The top three candidates are each elected for a four-year term. The fourth candidate is awarded a two-year term.[Effective January 2008]...
Sacirbey attended Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans on a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
and subsequently received a law degree from Tulane Law School and an MBA at Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
. Sacirbey served as legal counsel to Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
. Most of Sacirbey's professional career was spent as an investment banker on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
.
Sacirbey has a younger brother Omar, who is a journalist in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. In the 1990s their mother Aziza had a street named after her in Sarajevo.
Bosnian War
When the Bosnian WarBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
began in April 1992, Sacirbey offered his services to the Bosnian government and became Bosnia's first ambassador to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. He began his term on May 22, 1992, the day that Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to the UN. During the war, he made many impassioned pleas for the lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian government and made repeated calls for the UN to protect the so-called safe areas from indiscriminate attacks. He traveled the world in a bid for support and funds.
In May 1995 the foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Irfan Ljubijankić
Irfan Ljubijankic
Dr. Irfan Ljubijankić was a Bosnian facial surgeon, classical music composer, politician and diplomat. He was a good friend of Yusef Islam ....
was assassinated. Sacirbey was appointed to replace him for a brief period.
In November 1995, he accompanied the Bosnian delegation to the peace negotiations in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. The settlement came to be known as the Dayton Accords.
Legal difficulties
After the war, Sacirbey continued to serve as ambassador to the UN until late 2000. Upon leaving this position, rumors of financial irregularities in the BiH UN mission began to circulate. In 2001, the BiH government began to investigate Sacirbey on suspicion that he embezzled $0.6 million and misappropriated $1.8 million of state funds, during his tenure as ambassador. The investigation was launched by Zlatko LagumdžijaZlatko Lagumdžija
Dr. Zlatko Lagumdžija is a Bosnian politician and academic. He is known for his leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, who was the foreign minister at the time.
Sacirbey denied stealing any money and said the entire affair was fabricated by political opponents in Bosnia, particularly Serbs and those who opposed his wartime advocacy. He also stated he spent up to $800,000 of his own money to cover Bosnia's diplomatic expenses. Sacirbey has also questioned the legitimacy of the 1902 extradition treaty under which he is being extradited. The treaty is between the US and Serbia. In 1902 Bosnia was under the rule of Austria Hungary, it was not joined in a single state with Serbia until 1918.
On January 29, 2002 the BiH government formally asked the US to extradite Sacirbey. He was arrested on March 25, 2003 at his home in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. Sacirbey spent the next 16 months at the Metropolitan Correctional Center
Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City is a Federal Bureau of Prisons remand center in downtown Manhattan in New York City, located on Park Row behind the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at Foley Square....
in New York. He was released on July 27, 2004 on $6 million bail.
On January 19, 2005 he was certified by a federal magistrate in New York as extraditable. Sacirbey appealed his certification by filing a habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
petition on March 21, 2005 before a federal district judge. In September 2006, the district judge denied his petition for habeas corpus relief and ruled that he was extraditable. Sacirbey appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
.
On December 9, 2009 Appeals court ruled that Sacirbey could not be extradited.
External links
- Online book: A Convenient Genocide in a Fishbowl, by Mohammed Sacerbey
- Sacirbey Out on Bail
- US Court Rules Former Bosnian Foreign Minister Eligible for Extradition
- Legal document from the US District Court
- Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia June 15, 2009.
- Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia June 16, 2009.
- Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia June 17, 2009.
- Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia June 18, 2009.
- Sacirbey testimony to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia June 19, 2009.