34TH ANNIVERSARY OF BRUTAL MURDER OF BOY SLOBODAN STOJANOVIĆ TO BE MARKED ON MONDAY

ZVORNIK, JULY 24 /SRNA/ - The 34th anniversary of the brutal murder of twelve-year-old Slobodan Stojanović will be commemorated at the Church of Holy Deacon Avakum in Drinjača on Monday, July 27.

He was killed in Kamenica near Zvornik by Elfeta Veseli, a member of the so-called Army of BiH, and the Serbian Orthodox Church canonised him as a holy new martyr due to his martyrdom. Slobodan was killed in July 1992 by Elfeta Veseli, a member of the Sabotage Unit of the Command of the Joint Liplje and Kamenica Units of the so-called Army of BiH, after he returned to his village of Kamenica to retrieve his dog following his escape with his parents. According to the findings of pathologist Zoran Stanković, the child was brutally killed; his abdomen had been cut open in the shape of a cross, and he had visible head injuries. Priest of the Church of Holy Deacon Avakum, Marko Danojlović, told SRNA that flowers would be laid at the martyr Slobodan's grave at the local cemetery in Drinjača at 08:00, followed by a Holy Liturgy at 09:00. "Prayerful remembrance of the holy new martyr Slobodan Stojanović represents an act of deep respect for the innocent victims and a strong message that the truth, justice and dignity of the victims must never be forgotten," Danojlović stressed. He recalled that in 2022 the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church canonised little Slobodan, meaning that a memorial service is no longer held for him; instead, as with any other saint, a slava cake and wheat offering are presented in his honour. The boy's body was found in a pit in the Bajrići hamlet in Novo Selo near Zvornik, and was identified through DNA analysis, after which he was buried at the cemetery in Drinjača. For the brutal murder of the boy, Elfeta Veseli was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the first-instance proceedings, while in a second-instance verdict issued in December 2019, the Court of BiH Appeals Chamber increased the sentence to 13 years. According to data from the Republika Srpska Centre for Research of War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons, after the outbreak of the civil war, Elfeta Veseli joined Naser Orić's unit, taking part in sabotage operations by Muslim forces in Podrinje. After the war, she went to Switzerland, where she spent 20 years evading justice.