Trial begins for rocket attack on Banski dvori; all defendants unavailable as they are in Serbia

The trial for the 1991 rocket attack on Banski dvori, the Croatian presidential palace, has commenced, but all eight defendants are being tried in absentia as they reside in Serbia and are unavailable to face the court.

The investigation into the attack, which occurred on October 7, 1991, began in December 2017 after years of preparatory work. The accused include Ljubomir Bajić, Slobodan Jeremić, Đuro Miličević, Čedomir Kovačević, Ratko Dopuđa, and Damir Lukić. Bajić, Jeremić, Miličević, Kovačević, and Dopuđa are Serbian citizens, while Lukić holds both Serbian and Croatian citizenship.

Prosecutors allege that the defendants acted on a plan by the JNA command. Jeremić, then head of air support, reportedly informed Bajić, commander of the 5th Air Corps, about intelligence regarding the location of Croatian President Franjo Tuđman. Miličević is accused of ordering Dopuđa and Lukić, pilots of Super Galeb G-4 aircraft, to attack Banski dvori and nearby facilities.

The attack resulted in the death of one civilian and injured three others, with one civilian sustaining severe injuries. The damage to Banski dvori and surrounding structures was estimated at nearly 37 million Croatian kuna. Tuđman, along with then-SFRY Presidency President Stjepan Mesić and Federal Executive Council President Ante Marković, were reportedly in the building but had evacuated shortly before the impact.