Medved: Nicolier stood by truth and justice when freedom was threatened

At the Vukovar National Memorial Hospital "Dr. Juraj Njavro", Minister of Veterans Affairs Tomo Medved announced the official results of the identification process of four fallen Croatian veterans. He confirmed that the remains of HOS volunteer, Frenchman Jean-Michel Nicolier, had also been found.

“In Vukovar, at the National Memorial Hospital, where we have just completed the identification process, we are currently identifying four missing Croatian defenders. We exhumed three of them from a mass grave at Ovčara on September 25, and we exhumed one defender at Petrovačka dola in 2024,” said Minister Tomo Medved.

“The three defenders were taken from the hospital together with medical personnel after the fall of Vukovar. All of them died violently, he explained.

“We have identified Josip Batarel, born in 1947, a member of the 204th Brigade of the Croatian Army. He was taken from the Vukovar Hospital on November 20, 1991. He was killed at the age of 44,” he said.

“Zorislav Gašpar, born in 1971, a member of the 204th Brigade of the Croatian Army, was also identified, he was wounded on November 15, 1991, and was taken from the hospital on November 20, 1991. He was killed at Ovčara at the age of 20,” he continued.

“Jean-Michel Nicolier, born in 1966, a volunteer in the 204th Brigade of the Croatian Army, who came from France to defend Croatia from the Greater Serbian aggression, was wounded on November 8, 1991, at Sajmište, was also identified. The last recordings known to the general public were made in the Vukovar hospital from where he was taken to Ovčara on November 20, tortured and killed at the age of 25,” he recalled.

As he emphasized, “Nicolier was not born in Croatia, but he left his heart here and sacrificed his life for it.”

“When freedom was threatened, he decided to stand up for truth and justice,” Medved asserted.

“We have also identified Dragutin Štic, born in 1939. He was taken from Sajmište on November 9, 1991, in an unknown direction, and was killed at the age of 52,” he added.

Source: HRT