Description of crimes: Although there were no mass crimes against Serbs in the area of the town of Virovitica or in its wider administrative region — no killings or disappearances on a scale comparable to those in Gospić or Sisak — we are aware of several incidents in which crimes were committed against civilians by members of Croatian forces, and these will be addressed here. Furthermore, in some smaller places around Virovitica, incidents such as nighttime gunfire, threatening phone calls, and hand grenades thrown into yards were not so rare that they could be dismissed as isolated incidents. Those who were killed were mostly prominent or well-known individuals, which undoubtedly contributed to fear and the emigration of the Serb population from the area. Although it is certain that some younger men joined Serbian military and paramilitary units at the start of the war, this cannot account for such a significant disproportion, both in absolute numbers and in the relative share of Serbs in the local population. Among the well-documented cases is that of civilian Bogdan Mudrinić, who remains missing to this day. He was taken from his home in Virovitica without a warrant for questioning and never returned. As far as is known, he was beaten to death in the military prison in the Virovitica barracks, and his body was later removed from the prison and never seen again. A similar fate befell Dr. Ranko Mitrić, who was arrested at his workplace in the hospital, where, according to a criminal complaint filed against him, he allegedly attacked a Croatian soldier with a knife. Although the complaint was filed by the civilian police, on the same day the incident occurred, 1 November 1991, he was taken into custody by military police. After interrogation, in which members of the intelligence services also participated, he was handed over to the police and then again to Croatian soldiers. The following day, Dr Mitrić was killed, and his body was thrown into a manhole, which was then blown up with explosives. In Virovitica, Ranko Starović went missing in July 1991, followed by 76-year-old Stevan Radlović in early August 1991. On 16 August 1991, 16-year-old Slobodan Poplašen disappeared, and Mićo Petrović, who went missing on 5 September, has also never been found. In December 1991, in Pčelić near Virovitica, Milenko Momčilović (born in 1928) was killed, and his remains are still being searched for. Duško Šaponja was taken from his home in Jasenaš on 11 January 1992, tortured, and killed. His body was thrown into a roadside canal and found the morning after the crime. After the killing, one of the perpetrators returned to Duško’s home and raped his wife. In April 1992, in the village of Majkovac Podravski, which was administratively joined to nearby Žlebina in 2001, individuals identifying themselves as military police took away Vladimir Grubor, who, 22 years later, is still considered a missing person. These are not all the cases of killings and/or disappearances of Serb civilians in the Virovitica area. Not all occurred under the same circumstances, nor is it certain that they were committed by the same perpetrators, but there is a noticeable pattern of civilian suffering between the summer of 1991 and the spring of 1992. In light of these facts, the fear of those who directly or indirectly witnessed these events, and their decision to leave their homes at the time, should be understood.
Victims:
- Forkapa, Dobrivoj (Nikola), born 1 January 1928,
date of death: 23 December 1991, motives for the murder have not been confirmed - Grubor, Vladimir (Dragan), born 3 July 1953,
date of death: 18 April 1992 - Košutić, Bosiljka (Lazar), born 14 January 1928,
wounded on 24 September 1992, died from injuries on 28 September 1992 - Ljuština, Nikola (Ilija), born 1 January 1919,
wounded in December 1991, died from the effects of beatings
in early 1992 - Mitrić, Ranko (Mirko), born 8 July 1960,
date of death: 2 November 1991 - Momčilović, Milenko (Mihajlo), born 17 May 1928,
date of death: 10 December 1991 - Mudrinić, Bogdan (Milan), born 15 May 1952,
date of death: 11 December 1991 - Petrović, Mićo (Mićo), born 10 November 1939,
date of death: 5 September 1991 - Poplašen, Slobodan (Milan), born 22 February 1975,
date of death: 16 August 1991 - Radlović, Stevan/Stevo (Nikola), born 8 March 1915,
date of death: 29 August 1991 - Starović, Ranko (Dimitrije), born 21 October 1954,
date of death: 20 July 1991 - Šaponja, Duško (Slavko), born 15 September 1961,
date of death: 10 January 1992 - Zekonja, Slavko (Đorđe), born 2 August 1933,
date of death: 12 December 1991
Judicial consequences: In the criminal proceedings against four individuals accused of the deaths of Dr Ranko Mitrić and Bogdan Mudrinić, the County Court in Bjelovar issued an acquittal in March 2006, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court three years later. In April 1992, the Military Court in Bjelovar sentenced Darko Pil and Ivica Majetić, members of the Croatian Army (HV), to 15 and 12 years in prison respectively for the crime committed against Duško Šaponja and his wife. The other cases have not yet been prosecuted. The civil claim for non-material damages filed by the wife of the missing Bogdan Mudrinić was rejected due to the statute of limitations, and she was ordered, along with her co-plaintiffs, to pay 10,087.50 Croatian kuna in legal costs. The issue of collecting these legal costs was resolved only with a decision by the Government of the Republic of Croatia to write off the claims in December 2023. Due to the fact that the perpetrators were known and convicted, Duško Šaponja’s wife seemingly had an easier task in obtaining compensation, but after a favourable second instance ruling, the Supreme Court also rejected her compensation claim on the grounds of statutory limitation. The case currently stands before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In November 2018, Ljubica, Goran, and Zoran Mudrinić filed a constitutional complaint due to the inaction of the County State Attorney’s Office in Bjelovar, and in 2019 the Constitutional Court issued a ruling awarding them 70,000 Croatian kuna in compensation for the failure to conduct an effective investigation.
In a ruling issued in March 1994, the County Court in Bjelovar found the accused, Goran Šoh, guilty for the events of 24 September 1992, around 10 p.m., stating that “having arrived in the yard of house no. 51 in A. Hebrang Street in Gradina […], owned by Radovan Košutić, and having entered the shed entrance, upon noticing a passenger vehicle parked in the yard, with the intent to damage the vehicle and although he could have known and expected that household members might be present in the yard and in the room in front of which the bomb fell, he activated and threw a hand grenade M-52. At that moment, Bosiljka Košutić happened to be nearby, and as a result of the explosion she suffered extensive abdominal lacerations with rupture of the abdominal wall and injury to the small intestine, traumatic destruction of her right lower leg, and a fracture of the right ulna. These injuries led to endotoxaemic shock, from which, despite receiving medical care at the Virovitica Medical Centre, she died on 28 September 1992.” The remaining cases have not yet been prosecuted in court.
The remaining cases have not yet been prosecuted in court.