ZAGREB, June 3, 2018 - The man arrested by Croatian police at Donji Srb on Friday for attempting to smuggle migrants in his van has been charged also with attempted murder.
The 59-year-old Serbian national was arrested in the area of Srb on Friday afternoon, after hiding for a day and a half in the woods close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The man, who was driving a van with Austrian registration plates, is charged with having ignored two orders from the police to stop his vehicle for a check, and with driving at police officers in an attempt to get through a roadblock.
By trying to escape, the suspect wanted to hide the fact that he was transporting 30 migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, whom he was supposed to take to the area close to the border with Italy in exchange for a gain.
Among the migrants were 15 children. Two 12-year-olds suffered gunshot wounds after the driver ignored orders from the police to stop the vehicle. He stopped only after the police opened fire and he then escaped.
Commenting on the case, Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović said on Friday that police officers acted in line with the law and used firearms in self-defence.
