‘Serb war criminal’ living in Irish town for decade
THE STAR CONFRONTS MAN WANTED IN CROATIA ON BAIL AS COUNTRY SEEKS HIS EXTRADITION
The Star
He then returned to his family home in the Fairgreen area of Portlaoise — where we confronted him yesterday.
He confirmed to us that he had appeared in court, but his son then said his father had poor English and that the family did not wish to make any comment.
His full case is due to be heard at the High Court at a later date.
He has been living in Portlaoise since at least 2013.
Sources said Mr Rakanovic had an established family in the town and they were all well respected.
Others sources also stressed Mr Rakanovic has not been convicted of any offence and it may be he will be acquitted if and when he is sent to Croatia for trial.
Five men were indicted by Croatian authorities over the incident in Borovo Selo, near Vukovar in eastern Croatia.
Star
Irish Daily
One man, Milan Marinkovic, was jailed for three and a half years in 2012 — but four other men alleged to have taken part in the incident could not be tried as they were outside the country. All five men are alleged to have taken part in beatings of two Croatian policemen captured by Serb paramilitaries in what was then Yugoslavia. The incident started when four police officers saw a Yugoslav flag in the town — and tried to replace it with a Croat one.
That led to a confrontation with locals — with all four officers left wounded.
Two fled in a car, but the other two were captured. It’s alleged they were then mistreated in custody. Croatia later fought for independence over 1991 to 1995. It is now an independent country and an EU member.