Robert Zagajski whose father Djuro was murdered by Serbian hitmen in 1983 in Germany, is convinced there is evidence of a link between the Serbian hitmen who committed attacks in Germany and the murder of Jim Dando
A man whose father was killed by a Yogoslavian hit squad has called for the Serb assassin Milorad Ulemek to be questioned over the murder of Jill Dando.
Robert Zagajski’s father Djuro was killed in 1983 in Munich by hitmen, funded and armed by Belgrade, who were finally brought to justice in 2016. Robert worked for 30 years to get justice for his father, studying 20,000 documents in Yugoslav state files.
He immediately recognised the name of Serbian assassin Milorad Ulemek, who a key witness has alleged was the man seen running from the scene of Jill’s murder on April 26, 1999. Ulemek was convicted of the assassinations of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Dindic and former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic and is now in jail.
Robert said: “I know from the files that they had a man based in London. Ulemek is well known in Serbia because of his previous crimes. The new evidence against him should be properly investigated. He is a man with no scruples, no respect, to murder someone means nothing to him. I know how hard it is to gain the proof to bring to court. I waited years for justice. I hope that this can now bring justice for Jill’s family. It looks to me like this was a political assassination. You cannot rule anything out.”
It has been suggested that Jill’s murder was in revenge for NATO bombing a Serb radio station in Belgrade three days before she died amid Kosovo’s war with Yugoslav tyrant Slobodan Milosevic. She had previously fronted an appeal to help Kosovan refugees.
Robert said: “She supported Kosovo. Her murder could have been an act of revenge for Milosevic. It is absolutely possible.” Custom-made ammunition was used to kill Jill which experts had not previously seen in the UK. The weapon also appeared to have been adapted, as the bullet casing was marked.
Robert said: “After the Balkan war, one side was left with all the munitions while the other had none. So they had to adapt them for use in the murders.”
A close friend of Robert’s father’s, Luka Kraljevic, was blinded in an assassination bid in 1982 in Bavaria. The weapon was thrown away in a car park by the Yugoslav assassins. It was a crucial breakthrough for German police and could prove vital evidence in the murder of Jill Dando. Yugoslav assassins faced justice in Germany decades after the crimes they committed there. Retired judge Dr Manfred Dauster jailed two of them in 2016 for abetting the murder of Stjepan Djurekovic in 1983.
Dr Dauster told the Mirror the weapon and “unusual” bullets used were provided by the Yugoslav secret service. He said: “I recall the bullets found at the scene had marks on them.”
Asked about a possible link between the hit squads and the Dando murder, Dr Dauster said: “In terms of the former Yugoslavia at that time, nothing is excluded. You cannot rule it out.”