SHAMEFUL VERDICT IN OSIJEK: Serb fighting cancer sentenced to 20 years in prison for alleged war crimes in Croatia! (VIDEO)

Željko Travica has been sentenced in a first-instance ruling to 20 years in prison for alleged war crimes against “Croatian defenders in Cerić and Mirkovci in 1991.” The verdict was delivered by the County Court in Osijek, and in the explanation of the verdict, the president of the judicial council, Davor Mitrović, stated that the evidentiary proceedings unequivocally established that Travica committed a war crime against prisoners of war.

Based on witness testimony and autopsy reports of the victims, Travica is charged with the killing and abuse of prisoners of war, as stated in the explanation of the verdict.

During the presentation of his defense on May 5, he denied guilt for the criminal offense he is charged with, pointing out that the process was staged and that he did not abuse captured Croatian defenders.

On several occasions, Travica postponed the presentation of his defense due to health reasons and the consequences of cancer treatment and chemotherapy he received following surgery.

Štrbac: Travica sentenced to the harshest penalty, defense will appeal

The director of the Documentation and Information Center “Veritas,” Savo Štrbac, said that Travica was sentenced in the first instance to the harshest penalty for this type of crime in Croatia.

“When someone in Croatia is handed a 20-year sentence, they are actually being handed a death sentence, but since it does not exist, this is a replacement for the death penalty. This is the heaviest sentence,” said Štrbac, explaining that Travica is being tried according to the law from the time of the SFRY.

Štrbac emphasized that the Travica family and his defense are likely in shock because no one expected a conviction, let alone the maximum of 20 years—a sentence that was previously handed down in Croatia when trials were held in absentia, and to some in their presence 30 years ago or even during the war, but here it is again now.

He noted that this is a first-instance, non-final verdict against which the parties have the right to appeal.

“The prosecutor received the maximum sentence and therefore has no reason to appeal; on the other hand, the defense will certainly appeal. The High Criminal Court will decide on the appeal. Few verdicts so far, especially regarding these 20-year sentences, have been confirmed on the first attempt—the first-instance by the second-instance court,” said Štrbac.

Željko Travica was arrested in October 2024 in the French border town of Calais on his way from England based on a Croatian warrant, which is when he learned that an indictment had been filed against him for a war crime in Cerić, specifically for the murder of eight members of the Croatian police and HOS, as well as for the torture of three prisoners.

Travica remained in Croatia after the war and during the time of “peaceful reintegration,” and afterward, he served as the head of the Mirkovci municipality within the Croatian system.

He later worked in Germany and also lived in Serbia, where as a member of the Democratic Party of Serbia he was a councilor in the Assembly of the City of Novi Sad, as well as in England since 2016, notably with a Croatian passport.

During all that time, no one mentioned him in the context of war crimes until an investigation was opened against him in 2022. A year later, a Croatian warrant was issued, and at the end of 2024, an indictment was filed for events that took place 33 years earlier.