France seeks international warrant for suspected Ovčara murder suspect after 35 years

French judicial officials are finalising an international arrest warrant for Spasoje Petković, alias “Štuka,” alleged to have killed French volunteer Jean-Michel Nicolier at the Ovčara site in 1991. The warrant is being prepared by the War Crimes Department of the Paris court, and the Nicolier family expressed deep satisfaction, praising the work of their lawyers Ghislain Dubois and Arnaud Bilen. The family had previously pursued Serbia for extradition and even threatened a private lawsuit, but those efforts yielded no result.

French investigators now claim they have gathered enough evidence despite Petković’s denial, and have also questioned witnesses in Croatia, Serbia and a suspect concealed in Norway linked to the relocation of mass graves. Petković’s current location is unknown, as he is believed to live under an assumed identity. The case revives a 35-year-old demand for accountability for the Ovčara atrocities, where survivors say Nicolier was tortured and killed after being taken from Vukovar.