Bosnians give up deportation fight

Two Bosnian Serbs who covered up their service in a military brigade that massacred thousands of Muslims gave up their fight to stay in the U.S. on Monday and agreed to be deported to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Veselin Vidacak and Ugljesa Pantic were convicted of lying about serving in the breakaway Republic of Srpska's Zvornik Brigade when applying for refugee status. The brigade was responsible for the massacre of thousands of Muslims in the village of Srebrenica in July 1995.

The two have been ferried between federal detention centers for the better part of a year, and in federal immigration court Monday they decided to leave the country rather than continue the legal fight.

Vidacak, 32, and Pantic, 56, were convicted in May of concealing their involvement in the notorious brigade after they were arrested as part of a national sweep that netted dozens of Serb immigrants. The two had lived in High Point, N.C. before their arrests.

Vidacak — who according to military records was on sick leave during the village killings — said he was pressed into service by the Republic of Srpska, a state within Bosnia-Herzegovina that was never internationally recognized. Pantic argued he was not a soldier and that he did more menial tasks, such as digging canals and splitting wood.

The two had fought deportation since their December arrests. But Monday they decided to drop the battle rather than risk a government appeal — and months more in federal detention centers.

"They wanted to move on with their lives," said Jeremy McKinney, the defense lawyer who represented the men.

A third North Carolina man accused of concealing his involvement in the brigade, Milivoje Jankovic, was exonerated of the charges but still faces a deportation hearing.