Jusuf Prazina | |
|---|---|
 Jusuf Prazina in besieged Sarajevo, 1992 | |
| Nickname(s) | Juka |
| Born | 7 September 1962 Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Died | 4 December 1993 (aged 31) Eupen, Belgium |
| Allegiance |  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Herzeg-Bosnia |
| Service/ | Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Defence Council |
| Years of service | 1992–1993 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Commander of Special Brigade ARBiH "Juka's Wolves" Head of Special Forces ARBiH Head of Special Forces HVO Member of General Staff ARBiH |
| Battles/wars | |
Jusuf "Juka" Prazina (pronounced [jǔsuf jûka prǎzina]; 7 September 1962 – 4 December 1993) was a Bosniak organized crime figure and warlord during the Bosnian War.
A troubled teen, Prazina's youth allegedly contained numerous stays in various jails and correctional facilities of the former Yugoslavia. By the 1980s, he had become involved in organized crime, eventually heading his own racketeering gang based around his home in the city's Centar municipality.
With the onset of the Siege of Sarajevo in 1992, Prazina expanded his gang into an effective paramilitary fighting force called Juka's Wolves. This force was central in the effort against the besieging Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), and he was rewarded for his contribution to the city's defense by appointment to the head of the government's special forces. Prazina proved problematic for the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Following a warrant for his arrest in October, Prazina stationed himself on Mount Igman and coordinated attacks against the ARBiH until his eventual defeat and expulsion in January of the following year. Prazina moved to Herzegovina where he joined forces with the Croatian Defence Council and committed numerous crimes against civilians in the region. He left Bosnia and Herzegovina a few months later for Croatia, and lived on the Dalmatian coast before traveling through a number of European countries and finally relocating to Belgium.
He was found dead in a canal near the German border by two hitch-hikers on 31 December 1993. In 2001, documents detailing wartime conversations between then president of Croatia Franjo Tuđman and president of the Croatian parliament Stjepan Mesić were declassified. In one part of these documents, Mesić revealed his suspicions that Bosnian Croat extremists were to blame for Prazina’s death. The most concrete links came from an unsuccessful six-year investigation by the Bavarian Criminal Police.[1]
- ^ Selimbegović, Vildana. "Osuđen na smrt" Archived 2006-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, Dani, No. 262, bhdani.com, 21 June 2002.