Assasination of Arkan
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| Assasination of Arkan | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Coordinates | 44°48′34″N 20°26′02″E / 44.80944°N 20.43389°ECoordinates: 44°48′34″N 20°26′02″E / 44.80944°N 20.43389°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Target | Arkan |
| Deaths | Arkan, Milenko Mandić, Dragan Garić |
Non-fatal injuries | Dobrosav Gavrić |
| Perpetrator | Dobrosav Gavrić |
On Saturday, 15 January 2000, 17:05 GMT, Arkan was assassinated in the lobby of Belgrade’s elite Crowne Plaza Hotel (at that time InterContinental or Continental), a location where he was surrounded by other hotel guests. The killer, Dobrosav Gavrić, a 23-year-old junior police mobile brigade member, had ties to the underworld and was on sick leave at the time. He walked up alone toward his target from behind. Ražnatović was sitting and chatting with two friends and, according to BBC Radio, was filling out a betting slip. Gavrić waited for a few minutes, calmly walked up behind the party, and rapidly fired a succession of bullets from his CZ-99 pistol. Ražnatović was shot in his left eye and lapsed into a coma on the spot.[1][2] His bodyguard Zvonko Mateović put him into a car, and rushed him to a hospital; he died on the way.[3]
According to his widow Svetlana, Ražnatović died in her arms as they were driving to the hospital. His companions Milenko Mandić, a business manager, and Dragan Garić, a police inspector, were also shot to death by Gavrić, who in turn was shot and wounded by Mateović. A female bystander was seriously wounded in the shootout as well. After complicated surgery, Gavrić survived, but was disabled and confined to a wheelchair as the result of a spinal wound.[citation needed]
A memorial ceremony in Ražnatović’s honour was held on 19 January 2000, with writer Branislav Crnčević, Yugoslav Left (JUL) official Aleksandar Vulin, singers Oliver Mandić, Toni Montano, and Zoran Kalezić, along with the entire first team of FK Obilić, including club director Dragoslav Šekularac, in attendance.[4]
Željko Ražnatović was buried at the Belgrade New Cemetery with military honors by his volunteers and with funeral rites on 20 January 2000. Around 10,000 people attended the funeral.[citation needed]
Trials
Dobrosav Gavrić pleaded innocent but was convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison. His accomplices received from 3 to 15 years each, after a year-long trial in 2002. However, the district court verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court because of "lack of evidence and vagueness of the first trial process". A new trial was conducted in 2006, ending on 9 October 2006 with guilty verdicts upheld for Gavrić as well as his accomplices, Milan Đuričić and Dragan Nikolić. Each man was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[5]
Theories
NPR reported that Ražnatović simply knew too much when war crimes trials were becoming a reality for the Milošević regime.[3]
References
- ↑ "Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News". Archives.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ "Serbian warlord shot dead". BBC News. 15 January 2000. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Arkan Dead". NPR. 15 January 2000. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
- ↑ Šta je ostalo od Arkanove garde; Vreme.com, 10 April 2014.
- ↑ Sedam godina od ubistva Arkana; mondo.rs, 15 January 2007.
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