The body of 21-year-old David Dragicevic was exhumed Tuesday morning from a cemetery in Banja Luka, where he was laid to rest almost a year ago. The young man who was killed in March last year under still unresolved circumstances will be reburied in a Vienna cemetery this Friday.
Dozens of members of the Justice for David group, who have been supporting Dragicevic's parents seeking justice for their son, gathered at the cemetery in the northwestern Bosnian town ahead of the exhumation.
This was the saddest of all days since their “fight for truth and justice” started, said the group members.
“Today is the day when a message that even the dead have no peace here is being sent out,” said the group representative, Ozren Perduv.
Dragicevic was found dead in the Crkvena river in March 2018, in what the police initially described was drowning followed by taking drugs.
The parents and part of the public strongly objected the investigation outcome, claiming that the young man was murdered and demanding from authorities in Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) entity, where Banja Luka is located, to solve the case.
Followed by continuous protests organised by the father and renewed investigation, the authorities eventually said that what happened was a murder.
Davor Dragicevic, the father, directly blamed the top RS authorities of being involved in his son's death. At the end of the last year, the RS police issued a warrant for Davor Dragicevic for what they said was violating the public peace and order in the protests. Since then he has been on the run and his whereabouts remain unknown.
“We showed that the battle did not stop the day when Davor left. David's body is also leaving today but he stays with us. We all are David,” said Perduv.
The exhumation was carried out at a request of Dragicevic's parents, previously approved by Banja Luka authorities.
Suzana Radanovic, the mother, announced the exhumation through social networks, saying that all those willing to attend the new funeral are invited to come to Wiener Neustadt, Austria, on March 15, a small town where she lives.
The Justice for David group carried the banners saying ‘Are you ashamed, the state?’, ‘Even the dead have no peace here’, ‘So long Djakac (David's nickname)’ and others.
