Croatology, Vol. 12 No. 1, 2021.
Original scientific paper
Serbian crimes against civilian population in Petrinja area in 1991 – an example of the Kozbašić family
Josipa Maras Kraljević
; Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb
Abstract
During the Homeland War Petrinja and the Petrinja area were destroyed due to the Greater Serbia aggression, the population was expelled, many civilians and Croatian soldiers were killed, and the area was eventually occupied in autumn of 1991. The occupation lasted until August 1995, until the “Storm Operation”. After presenting political and military context of the situation before the crime was committed, the paper will focus on the murder case of the four- member Kozbašić family committed in occupied Petrinja. The paper is mainly based on documentation of Croatian and rebel Serb institutions, literature and newspapers were used as an additional source. Local restaurant owner and nurse, Milan and Gordana Kozbašić,, with two elementary school children, Tamara and Alen, remained living in Petrinja even after the Serbs occupied the city on September 21st, 1991. They were killed early in November of the same year. The identities of the two defendants for this crime are known, at least according to the indictment filed at the Zagreb County Court at the end of 2018. A thorough investigation of such criminal acts contributes to the detection of perpetrators of crimes and prevents manipulation of victims and numbers of civilians killed during the Homeland War.
Keywords
Petrinja, Greater Serbian aggression, crimes against civilians, children killed, Kozbašić Family
Hrčak ID:
255156
URI
Publication date:
3.4.2021.
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