Croatian police have arrested a 61-year-old dual citizen of Croatia and Montenegro on suspicion that, as a member of a Serbian paramilitary formation, he committed a war crime against prisoners of war in February 1993 near Vodice, close to \u0160ibenik, Croatian police and prosecutors announced yesterday on their official websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement by the \u0160ibenik-Knin Police Department, it is alleged that the man, as deputy commander of a military police platoon in the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the army of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, after occupying part of the village of Dragi\u0161i\u0107i on February 24, 1993, together with several other members, severely physically abused nine captured members of the 15th Home Guard Regiment of the Croatian Army, aged between 27 and 57, two of whom were killed and two taken in an unknown direction, where they have been missing ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The County Prosecutor\u2019s Office in Split stated that it had questioned the man and issued a decision to open an investigation against him. It is reasonably suspected that the arrested man physically abused the captured Croatian soldiers and, together with military policemen and Serbian soldiers, fired shots from a rifle at one of the victims, while another captured Croatian soldier died from severe bodily injuries. Two prisoners were handed over to another paramilitary unit, knowing they would be killed. It is also suspected that the accused allowed his subordinate military policemen and Serbian soldiers to beat the captured Croatian soldiers in the area, causing them numerous serious and life-threatening injuries. At the request of the prosecutor\u2019s office, the investigating judge ordered pre-trial detention for the accused due to the risk of flight, influence on witnesses, and to ensure the unimpeded progress of the proceedings for the crime punishable by long-term imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These statements were reported by many regional media outlets. Although the suspect\u2019s name was not mentioned in official statements, some Croatian media claimed it was Zoran Korda, while others referred to him as Zoran D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to information from \u201cVeritas,\u201d the suspect\u2019s name is Zoran Korda (born 1964) from the village of Ze\u010devo, Kistanje municipality (until 1995, Knin municipality). Zoran fled the then Republic of Serbian Krajina in August 1995 and settled with his family in Podgorica. According to residents of Ze\u010devo and nearby villages, Zoran\u2019s parents returned from exile after Croatia\u2019s \u201cOperation Storm\u201d and rebuilt their property, which Zoran had been visiting regularly for the past twenty years, helping to maintain and cultivate it\u2014including an olive grove with several hundred trees. In the meantime, his parents passed away, but Zoran continued to visit and maintain the property. This year, a few days before his arrest, he came to his hometown with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to harvest olives. None of the few remaining residents of Ze\u010devo saw when Zoran was arrested, and neither he nor his family members responded to phone calls from relatives in nearby villages, so they learned about the arrest from the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The news of Zoran\u2019s arrest alarmed Serbs in the Kistanje area and beyond, especially since none of them believe Zoran committed the acts he is accused of. They link his arrest to frequent attacks on Serbs, such as the one when masked men in black shirts violently interrupted the event \u201cDays of Serbian Culture\u201d in Split on November 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n