DOJ Asks Court to Revoke US Citizenship of Ex-Bosnian Prison Guard

The Trump administration seeks to ensure ‘those who persecute others based on protected bases’ do not get refuge in the U.S., according to a DOJ official.

The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Aug. 7, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil complaint on Dec. 19 seeking to revoke the citizenship of a man who hid his military service during the Bosnian war to obtain U.S. naturalization.

Prosecutors said that Kemal Mrndzic, a 52-year-old Yugoslavian native and former citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, failed to disclose during his immigration proceedings that he had served as a guard at the notorious Celebici prison camp during the Bosnian War in 1992.

Bosnian-Serb prisoners were persecuted at Celebici prison camp, which included beatings, torture, sexual assault, starvation, and murders, according to the complaint.

As a prison guard, Mrndzic took part in the persecution of Bosnian-Serb prisoners, according to the DOJ.

Mrndzic was convicted last year by a federal jury on several criminal fraud and misrepresentation charges related to his successful application for a naturalization certificate and U.S. passport.

In the 46-page complaint, the DOJ requested that the court revoke Mrndzic’s citizenship and cancel his naturalization certificate.

Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Division, in a statement affirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the U.S. naturalization process.

Shumate said the administration seeks to ensure that “those who persecute others based on protected bases, especially in wartime, do not reap the benefits of refuge in the United States by gaming America’s immigration process.”

Mrndzic was handed a five-year prison term on Jan. 22, to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

He was found guilty of concealing his involvement in the persecution of Serb prisoners, making a false statement to federal agents about his role at the camp, and possessing a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate and Social Security card.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials said that Mrndzic’s military service during the Bosnian war only became known decades later, following testimony from prison camp survivors.

“Through the brave testimony of the survivors of the Celebici prison camp, the persecution Mrndzic attempted to conceal was finally brought to light after over 30 years.

“Though we can never undo what the survivors endured, I hope this sentence brings some measure of justice, no matter how long delayed,” HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael Krol said on Jan. 23, announcing his sentence.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mrndzic’s lawyer but did not receive a response by publication time.

More than 100,000 people were killed in the Bosnian war, which took place between 1992 and 1995 following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.