Sretko Kalinić

Sretko Kalinić
"The Beast", "The White"
Born 1974
Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Criminal charge
 killings, kidnappings, terrorist acts, racketeering

Sretko Kalinić, also known as "The Beast", or "The White" (born February 25, 1974) is a Serbian gangster,[1][2][3] contract killer [1][2] and mass murderer,[1][4] best known as one of the conspirators in the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

Early life

Kalinić was born in Zadar in a Serb family. In the early 1990s, during the Croatian War of Independence, he was at one period a member of paramilitary unit called the Knindže (Knin ninjas, Red berets) headed by Dragan Vasiljković ("Captain Dragan").[5]

Criminal career

After the war, Kalinic became of a member of the notorious Zemun Clan, 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 most cruel member of Clan, fitting his nickname "Beast". According to Milenković's testimony, Sretko 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.[6][7]

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 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 Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.[6][7]

In June 2010 he was found shot in the suburbs of Zagreb, Croatia by fellow gangster Miloš Simović, who was also a conspirator in the assassination of Zoran Đinđić.[8] He was taken to the hospital to be treated and questioned by the police.

Arrest in Croatia

While recovering in the hospital, Sretko Kalinić offered cooperation to Croatian investigators, including testimony on the organization of the assassination of Zoran Đinđić, and the names of the people who ordered the murder of Zoran Vukojević "Vuk", a protected witness. He admitted to murdering Vukojević as well as Zoran Pović in 2006; both were witnesses linked to the Đinđić assassination trial.[5] According to Croatian newspaper Kalinić admitted participating in the murder of at least twenty people in Serbia, Netherlands, Spain, and Croatia.[5]

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).[9] Nevertheless, a few days later Serbian Minister of Justice Snežana Malović announced an extradition request for Kalinić to Croatia in hopes that Croatia would change their laws. Sure enough, it was later announced that the Croatian assembly was working on adopting constitutional amendments in regards to regional criminals, so that they would not be able to find refuge in Croatia anymore and could be subject to extradition.[10] The changes were approved and on August 25, Kalinić was extradited to Serbia.[11]

Victims

Sretko Kalinić was sentenced by Serbian court based on the testimony of ex members of the criminal Zemun Clan, Dejan "Bugsy" Milenković and Sasa Petrović. Furthermore, a large list of Kalinić's victims has been confirmed by his confession to Croatian investigators and statements of Miloš Simović to Serbian investigators.[1][2][4]

Accordingly, Kalinić personally killed, assisted in the murders, or participated as a collaborator in the organization of murders of: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, ex member of the criminal Zemun Clan and protected witness Zoran Vukojević Vuk, Zoran Pović "Pova", Sredoje Šljukić "Šljuka", Zoran Šljukić, Zoran Savic "Šoder", Jovan Guzijan, Rade Cvetić, Todor Gradašević, former leader of paramilitary units Branislav Lainovic "Dugi", Zoran Davidović Ćanda, Zoran Uskoković "Skole", Mirko Tomić "Bosanac", Radoslav Trlajić "Bata Trlaja", Željko Vuletić "Hamza", Željko Mihajlović "Crnogorac", and Zoran Petrović "Šempa".[1][2][4][12]

Miloš Simović and Sretko Kalinić accused each other of the murder of their associate, Cvetko Simić, whose body parts, except for the head, were found in a lake near Zagreb.[13]

According to ex members of the criminal Zemun Clan Dejan Milenković and Sasa Petrović, Kalinić's characteristic was sadistic torture of the victims. In their testimony Milenković and Petrović said that Kalinić killed one of the victims Zoran Savić, then broke his bones with a hammer, and then burned the rest of his body with acid. [1][2] Kalinić also participated in the kidnappings 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. [1][2] Gordan Malić of Croatian "Jutarnji list" said that Sretko Kalinic in his 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. [14][3][15]

See also

References