Indictment filed against Oliver Knezović for the murder of fan Vedran Puljić

The County State's Attorney's Office in Zagreb has filed an indictment against Oliver Knezović (41) accused of murdering young FK Sarajevo fan Vedran Puljić (22) with a stolen police pistol and attempting to murder six other people during violent fan riots in front of the football stadium in Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on October 4, 2009, writes Croatian Novi list, reports the BH news agency Patria.

- Knezović is charged with firing as many as ten bullets from a distance of 54.5 meters at people in front of the stadium where the match between the Široki Brijeg and visiting Sarajevo clubs was supposed to be played. He hit Puljić directly in the head, causing the young man to die on the spot. He hit another victim in the thigh of the right leg, causing him serious bodily injury, and wounded a third in the chest area, causing life-threatening injuries. He wounded four other people with bullets from the pistol - one in the right arm, another in the left side of the neck, a third in the right lower leg, and a fourth person in the left thigh. According to the indictment, around 15:25, Knezović snatched a service pistol from a police officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At that moment, the officer was on the street receiving buses with fans from Sarajevo.

With the pistol in his hand, Knezović ran onto the road towards a larger number of fans and a smaller number of police officers and citizens of Široki Brijeg who were in front of the stadium.

Criminal prosecution has been taken over from the competent judicial body in Bosnia and Herzegovina, given that the accused is not only a citizen of BiH but also a citizen of the Republic of Croatia residing in Zagreb. According to available data, Knezović was a member of the so-called punitive battalion from Široki Brijeg during the war.