MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR MARTYRED PRIEST NEDELJKO POPOVIĆ

TRNOVO, JUNE 10 /SRNA/ - In the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George in Trnovo, a memorial service was held today for priest Nedeljko Popović, who was brutally murdered 34 years ago by members of the so-called Army of BiH.

The memorial service was officiated by the head of the church in Trnovo, priests Njegoslav Jelisić and Nikola Popović, the son of the murdered Nedeljko, after which wreaths and flowers were laid. Wreaths were laid by the envoy of the Serb member of the BiH Presidency Maja Gačić, the President of the Association of Camp Inmates of Republika Srpska Anđelko Nosović, a delegation from the Trnovo municipality, representatives of organizations stemming from the Defensive-Patriotic War, and the Popović family. Popović was an Orthodox priest and the parish priest of Trnovo, who was brutally tortured and killed by Muslim forces on June 10, 1992. He represents one of the most recognizable symbols of the suffering of the Serbian people in the area of the Trnovo municipality. This beloved clergyman served in Trnovo from 1977 to 1992, and the locals remember him as a gentle man who was always ready to help everyone, which is why he was extremely loved and respected among the people. Thirty-four years ago, Father Nedeljko tried to save several civilians from the village of Lisojević, but in that attempt, he encountered a blockade by members of the so-called Army of BiH, where he was captured and transferred to Godinjske Bare, placed in a garage with other residents, and subsequently brutally murdered. During the autopsy of his body, pathologists were surprised and appalled by the atrocity committed. After the liberation of Trnovo, in the summer of 1993, the mortal remains of priest Popović were found and buried in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George. No one has yet been held accountable for his death, nor for the suffering of many innocent residents of Trnovo. The epilogue of the process before the Court of BiH against the former head of the Public Security Station in Trnovo Medaris Šarić and his associate Mirko Bunoza is that they were legally acquitted of war crimes charges.