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CRORAMBO War, Imprisonment & Personal Testimony

Personal Timeline

The author’s life in dates, with documented events alongside.

Editorial text · written for the 2026 reconstruction

All events, personal and historical, in one chronology. Use the buttons to show one track at a time.

  1. 1991

    Personal account · 1991

    Recruited to lead the ZEBRA platoon (author’s account)

    The author states that the Croatian Army and secret service recruited him to organise the anti-terrorist platoon “ZEBRA”, which he commanded.

  2. Historical record · 25 June 1991

    Croatia and Slovenia declare independence

    Croatia declares independence on the same day as Slovenia. Heavy fighting follows in the second half of 1991.

  3. Personal account · 23 August 1991

    First wound: rocket fragment in the ribs (author’s account)

    According to his medical-record statement, he was wounded in a five-hour battle and returned to his unit after three hours.

  4. Historical record · Late August 1991

    The JNA lays siege to Vukovar

    The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) begins a three-month siege of Vukovar, during which the city is largely destroyed.

  5. Personal account · 28 August 1991

    Second wound: grenade fragment in the head (author’s account)

    He describes being hit by tank fire, waking up in hospital in Zagreb and leaving after two weeks.

  6. Personal account · 20 September 1991

    Mi-8 helicopter downed (author’s claim, unconfirmed)

    The author claims his unit shot down a JNA Mi-8 near Sisak carrying senior Yugoslav commanders. No source consulted confirms this.

  7. Historical record · 18 November 1991

    Vukovar falls to Serb forces

    The siege ends with the city’s fall. Most of the remaining non-Serb population is expelled within days.

  8. Historical record · 20 November 1991

    Killings at Ovčara

    About 400 non-Serbs are removed from Vukovar hospital. 194 identified victims are killed at Ovčara that evening (ICTY, Mrkšić et al.).

  9. 1992

    Historical record · Early 1992

    UN-monitored ceasefire in Croatia

    A UN-monitored ceasefire comes into force; fighting in Croatia largely freezes along front lines.

  10. Personal account · 1992

    ZEBRA unit in Bosnia (author’s account)

    Videos uploaded in 2011 are described by the author as footage of the ZEBRA unit in Bosnia in 1992.

  11. 1993

    Historical record · May 1993

    The UN Security Council establishes the ICTY

    The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is established in The Hague.

  12. Historical record · 9–17 September 1993

    Medak Pocket operation

    Croatian forces attack the Medak Pocket south of Gospić. The ICTY later charged that at least 100 Serbs were unlawfully killed.

  13. 1995

    Historical record · Summer 1995

    Croatian offensives regain territory

    Two major Croatian offensives in summer 1995, including Operation Storm, effectively end the war in Croatia that autumn.

  14. 1996

    Historical record · 27 March 1996

    Former tourism minister Anton Marčelo Popović shot dead

    Hina reported the killing of the former minister on his doorstep in Istria. Croatian press later reported that Siniša Dvorski was convicted of the killing; he denies it.

  15. Personal account · 1996

    Arrest in Graz, extradition and 15-year sentence

    The author states he was arrested by Austrian police in Graz, handed to Croatian police and later sentenced to 15 years.

  16. 1998

    Historical record · January 1998

    Eastern Slavonia returns to Croatian rule

    After a peaceful transition under UN administration, Eastern Slavonia reverts to Croatian rule.

  17. 2002

    Historical record · 17 September 2002

    ICTY indicts Janko Bobetko

    The indictment for crimes in the Medak Pocket is confirmed, and made public on 20 September 2002.

  18. 2003

    Historical record · 29 April 2003

    Bobetko dies; proceedings later terminated

    Janko Bobetko dies before trial; the Trial Chamber terminates proceedings on 24 June 2003.

  19. 2006

    Archive history · 6 February 2006

    crorambo.com is registered

    The domain is set up with its hosting provider (hosting records). The first videos are embedded via Google Video the same month.

  20. Archive history · September 2006

    First recorded audio message published

    Audio messages from prison begin to appear on the website.

  21. 2007

    Historical record · 27 September 2007

    ICTY judgement in the Vukovar hospital case

    The Trial Chamber convicts Mile Mrkšić and Veselin Šljivančanin; Miroslav Radić is acquitted.

  22. Archive history · September–October 2007

    Newspaper articles added

    Scans of newspaper coverage are added under “new articles”.

  23. 2008

    Archive history · Late 2008 – early 2009

    Prison complaints and petitions written

    Word files later offered as downloads are created between October 2008 and March 2009, according to their metadata.

  24. 2009

    Archive history · April–September 2009

    Mass-grave maps from prison published

    Maps the author says he drew from memory in prison are published, followed by a “made in captivity” PDF in July 2010.

  25. 2011

    Personal account · 15 March 2011

    Release from prison after 15 years

    The author dates his release to 15 March 2011. Večernji list reported his release from Rijeka prison.

  26. Archive history · May–September 2011

    Videos published on YouTube

    Thirteen videos are uploaded to the Crorambocom channel.

  27. 2012

    Historical record · 16 November 2012

    Gotovina and Markač acquitted on appeal

    The ICTY Appeals Chamber acquits the two generals convicted over Operation Storm.

  28. 2016

    Historical record · 12 May 2016

    Tomislav Merčep convicted in Zagreb

    The Zagreb County Court convicts Merčep of failing to prevent the killing of Serb civilians by a unit under his authority.

  29. 2017

    Historical record · 31 December 2017

    The ICTY closes

    Remaining functions pass to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.