45 year old charged with war crimes at Ovčara – Nicolier’s killer?

After several years of investigation, police have filed criminal charges against a 45 year old citizen of Serbia under suspicion that, after the fall of Vukovar in November 1991, he took part in shooting prisoners of war and also abusing and killing captured Croatian soldiers and civilians taken from the Vukovar hospital in the hangar at the Ovčara farm, among them French citizen Jean-Michel Nicolier.

“Considering the fact that the accused Serbian citizen is out of reach, the Croatian police will, in cooperation with responsible bodies for criminal prosecution in Croatia and abroad, intensify search measures as much as possible with an aim to arrest and bring the suspect before judicial bodies of the Republic of Croatia,” said a statement by the Interior Ministry.

The police claim that during October of 1991, after the occupation of a portion of Vukovar, the accused took part in taking away and killing seven civilians, three of which still remain missing. It is suspected that in the afternoon and evening hours of November 20th, 1991, in the Hangar at Ovčara, he “took part in abusing and murdering prisoners brought in from the Vukovar hospital, during which he killed several people, among them a French citizen. With other members of enemy units at the Grabovo/Vorginac location he took part in the execution of 200 prisoners by firing squad, while the remains of 193 prisoners have so far been identified.

Source: HRT