{"id":209484,"date":"2026-05-08T19:31:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=209484"},"modified":"2026-05-08T19:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T17:31:45","slug":"shameful-verdict-in-osijek-serb-fighting-cancer-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-alleged-war-crimes-in-croatia-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/shameful-verdict-in-osijek-serb-fighting-cancer-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-alleged-war-crimes-in-croatia-video\/","title":{"rendered":"SHAMEFUL VERDICT IN OSIJEK: Serb fighting cancer sentenced to 20 years in prison for alleged war crimes in Croatia! (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>\u017deljko Travica has been sentenced in a first-instance ruling to 20 years in prison for alleged war crimes against &#8220;Croatian defenders in Ceri\u0107 and Mirkovci in 1991.&#8221; The verdict was delivered by the County Court in Osijek, and in the explanation of the verdict, the president of the judicial council, Davor Mitrovi\u0107, stated that the evidentiary proceedings unequivocally established that Travica committed a war crime against prisoners of war.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u017deljko Travica nepravomo\u0107no osu\u0111en na 20 godina zatvora za ratni zlo\u010din\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jVA5RqeG9As?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u0160trbac: Travica sentenced to the harshest penalty, defense will appeal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The director of the Documentation and Information Center &#8220;Veritas,&#8221; Savo \u0160trbac, said that Travica was sentenced in the first instance to the harshest penalty for this type of crime in Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; said \u0160trbac, explaining that Travica is being tried according to the law from the time of the SFRY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0160trbac 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\u2014a 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He noted that this is a first-instance, non-final verdict against which the parties have the right to appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;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\u2014the first-instance by the second-instance court,&#8221; said \u0160trbac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u017deljko 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 Ceri\u0107, specifically for the murder of eight members of the Croatian police and HOS, as well as for the torture of three prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Travica remained in Croatia after the war and during the time of &#8220;peaceful reintegration,&#8221; and afterward, he served as the head of the Mirkovci municipality within the Croatian system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/three-silvers-and-three-bronzes-serbian-high-school-students-shined-at-the-balkan-mathematical-olympiad-in-thessaloniki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THREE SILVERS AND THREE BRONZES: Serbian high school students shined at the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad in Thessaloniki!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/this-is-a-journey-on-the-wings-of-the-soul-youth-from-republika-srpska-set-off-on-foot-toward-ostrog-dedicating-the-pilgrimage-to-a-friend-killed-in-a-traffic-accident\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">\u201cTHIS IS A JOURNEY ON THE WINGS OF THE SOUL\u201d: Youth from Republika Srpska set off on foot toward Ostrog, dedicating the pilgrimage to a friend killed in a traffic accident!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/srbin-na-celu-engleskog-kluba-dusan-bogdanovic-postao-predsednik-oksford-junajteda\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">SERB AT THE HELM OF AN ENGLISH CLUB: Du\u0161an Bogdanovi\u0107 became the chairman of Oxford United!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/agriculture-student-released-after-five-hours-of-questioning-the-young-man-accused-of-overthrowing-the-state-was-released\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">AGRICULTURE STUDENT RELEASED: After five hours of questioning, the young man accused of \u201coverthrowing the state\u201d was released!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/jelena-thank-you-for-everything-the-captain-who-returned-to-the-court-immediately-after-giving-birth-has-ended-her-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">JELENA, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING: The captain who returned to the court immediately after giving birth has ended her career!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/today-is-saint-marks-day-we-celebrate-saint-apostle-mark-the-writer-of-the-gospel-and-the-right-hand-of-apostle-peter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TODAY IS SAINT MARK\u2019S DAY: We celebrate Saint Apostle Mark, the writer of the Gospel and the right hand of Apostle Peter!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Izvor:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rts.rs\/lat\/vesti\/region\/5945503\/zeljko-travica-osudjen-na-20-godina-zatvora-u-osijeku-mu-sudjeno-za-ratni-zlocin.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">RTS<\/a>, <strong>Foto:<\/strong> Printscreen Youtube \/ Pixsell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u017deljko Travica has been sentenced in a first-instance ruling to 20 years in prison for alleged war crimes against &#8220;Croatian defenders in Ceri\u0107 and Mirkovci in 1991.&#8221; The verdict was delivered by the County Court in Osijek, and in the explanation of the verdict, the president of the judicial council, Davor Mitrovi\u0107, stated that the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":209485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,8378,5512,1543,4432,131,1544,12590,15,733,12591],"class_list":["post-209484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-balkan","tag-balkan","tag-karcinom","tag-osijek","tag-presuda","tag-rak","tag-rat","tag-ratni-zlocin","tag-srbin-u-hrvatskoj","tag-video","tag-zatvor","tag-zeljko-travica","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209484"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209494,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209484\/revisions\/209494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}