Sretko Kalinić ( sr-Cyrl, Сретко Калинић; born 25 February 1974), also known as "Zver" ( sr-Cyrl, Звер, lit=The Beast) or "Beli" ( sr-Cyrl, Бели, lit=The White), is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

,Šiptar naređivao
Kalinić ubijao
Novosti.rs; accessed 20 January 2016."Vukojevića ubio Kalinić?"
b92.net; accessed 20 January 2016.
e-novine.com; accessed 20 January 2016.

contract killer Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...

and

mass murderer Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more p ...

, who holds dual

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

n and Croatian citizenship.Kalinic personally killed 20 people
best known as one of the conspirators in the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Serbian Prime Minister The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијерка Србије, premijerka Srbije; masculine: премијер/premijer), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председница Влад ...

Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđi� ...

Early life

Kalinić was born in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

in a

family. In the early 1990s, during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...

, he was at one period a member of paramilitary unit called the Kninjas (Red berets) headed by

Dragan Vasiljković Dragan Vasiljković ( sr-cyrl, Драган Васиљковић; born 12 December 1954), nicknamed Captain Dragan ( sr, Капетан Драган, Kapetan Dragan) is a convicted war criminal and the former commander of a Serb paramilitary unit ...

("Captain Dragan").Sretko Kalinić Zver priznao i jednu likvidaciju u Hrvatskoj, onu Cvetka Simića?
jutarni.hr; accessed 20 January 2016.

Criminal career

After the war, Kalinic became one of the members of the notorious

Zemun Clan The Zemun Clan (Serbian Cyrillic: Земунски клан) is one of the Belgrade clans of the Serbian mafia. It is named for the gang's base in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. The peak of the clan's power and influence occurred between 199 ...

, the largest Serbian criminal group, where he rose through the ranks. In the testimony of Dejan "Bugsy" Milenković, a former member of the Zemun Clan and protected witness, he accused Kalinić of being the cruelest member of the Clan, garnering the nickname "Beast". According to Milenković's testimony, Kalinić was '"a favorite murderer" of Dušan Spasojević "Šiptar", the head of the Zemun clan, and was responsible for the murder of at least twenty people.Judgement of the Court for the murder of Djindjic
Prison sentences for Zemun Clan
/ref> In March 2003, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was assassinated under the orders of Zemun Clan leader Milorad "Legija" Ulemek and Dusan Spasojevic. On 23 May 2007 the Belgrade Special Court for Organised Crime found twelve men, including Kalinić, guilty of conspiring the murder of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić. However, Kalinić and others went on the run following the assassination and could not be found. On 18 January 2008, Kalinić was sentenced by the Serbian court in absentia to 40 years imprisonment for involvement in killings, kidnappings, terrorist acts, and the murder of Đinđić. In June 2010 he was found shot in the suburbs of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

by fellow gangster Miloš Simović, also a conspirator in the assassination of Đinđić. Kalinić was taken to the hospital to be treated and questioned by the police.

Arrest in Croatia

While recovering in the hospital, Kalinić offered

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal ...

to Croatian investigators, including testimony on the organization of the assassination of Đinđić, and the names of the people who ordered the murder of Zoran Vukojević, a protected

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

. He admitted to murdering Vukojević as well as Zoran Pović in 2006; both were witnesses linked to the Đinđić assassination trial. According to a Croatian newspaper, Kalinić admitted participating in the murders of some twenty people in Serbia,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and Croatia. Despite being convicted of crimes in Serbia, it was noted that Kalinić would not be eligible for extradition to Serbia since he held Croatian citizenship and Croatian law forbids the extradition of their citizens (Kalinić is a citizen of both countries). Nevertheless, a few days later Serbian Minister of Justice

Snežana Malović Snežana Malović ( sr-cyr, Снежана Маловић, , born 10 September 1976) is a Serbian politician and former Minister of Justice in the Government of Serbia, and a former member of the Democratic Party. She served as Deputy Secretary t ...

announced an extradition request for Kalinić to Croatia in hopes that Croatia would change their laws. It was later announced that the Croatian Sabor was working on adopting constitutional amendments in regards to regional criminals so they could be subject to extradition. The changes were approved and on August 25, Kalinić was extradited to Serbia.

Victims

Sretko Kalinić was sentenced by a Serbian court following testimony from former members of the criminal Zemun Clan, Dejan Milenković and Sasa Petrović. A large list of Kalinić's victims has been confirmed by his confession to Croatian investigators and statements of Miloš Simović to Serbian investigators. Accordingly, Kalinić personally killed, assisted in the murders, or participated as a collaborator in the organization of murders of Đinđić, Zoran Vukojević (an ex-member of

and protected witness), as well as Zoran Pović, Sredoje Šljukić, Zoran Šljukić, Zoran Savić, Jovan Guzijan, Rade Cvetić, Todor Gradašević, former leader of paramilitary units Branislav Lainović, Zoran Davidović, Zoran Uskoković, Mirko Tomić, Radoslav Trlajić, Željko Vuletić, Željko Mihajlović, and Zoran Petrović. Miloš Simović and Sretko Kalinić accused each other of the murder of their associate, Cvetko Simić, whose body parts, except for his head, were found in a lake near Zagreb. According to ex members of the

, Dejan Milenković and Sasa Petrović, Kalinić enjoyed sadistically torturing his victims. In their testimony the two said Kalinić killed Zoran Savić, then broke his bones with a

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as ...

, and then burned the rest of his body with acid. Kalinić participated in kidnappings of members of the Zemun Clan, where he brutally tortured the kidnapped victims. Among the well-known businessmen who were kidnapped by the Zemun Clan were Miroslav Mišković, Milija Babović, and Suvad Musić. Gordan Malić of Croatia's '' Jutarnji list'' claimed Kalinić's confession to Croatian investigators acknowledged that he eliminated traces of the murder victim in Spain by grinding victim's body parts in a

meat grinder A meat grinder (also called a "meat mincer" in the UK) is a kitchen appliance for fine chopping ('mincing') and/or mixing of raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the mincing knife (which are also us ...

. "Iskaz Kalinića važi ako je dat pred istražnim sudijom"
smedia.rs; accessed 20 January 2016.

References

External links