Arkan

Željko Ražnatović was born in Brežice, a small border town in Lower Styria, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia. His father, Veljko Ražnatović served as a decorated officer in the SFR-Yugoslav Air Force, being highly ranked for his notable involvement in World War II. Veljko was stationed in Slovenian Styria at the time when his fourth child Željko was born.Miloš Milikić Mido – Za naše nebo — Monografija prve klase letača Vazduhoplovnog učilišta 1945-1947. Belgrade 1995.

Infant Ražnatović spent part of his childhood in Zagreb and Pančevo before his father's job eventually took the family to the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade, which is considered his hometown.{{cite web|url=http://www.svedok.rs/index.asp?show=70322|title=Internet Svedok - 916|publisher=Svedok.rs|access-date=1 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128131339/http://www.svedok.rs/index.asp?show=70322|archive-date=28 January 2019|url-status=dead}} He grew up with three older sisters in a strict, militaristic patriarchal household with regular physical abuse from his father. In a 1991 interview, he recalled: "He didn't really hit me in a classical sense, he'd basically grab me and slam me against the floor."{{cite web|author=Dada Vujasinovic|url=https://dadavujasinovic.com/dada-pise/ratnik-ogrezao-u-svetosavlju-duga-br-462-1991/|title=Ratnik ogrezao u svetosavlju|publisher=duga|date=8 April 1994|access-date=1 March 2014}} As a child, Ražnatović was considered to be a "problem child" by his teachers who regularly complained of his unruly behavior.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=318}}

In his youth, Ražnatović aspired to become a pilot as his father had been. Due to the highly demanding and significant positions of his parents, there appeared to be very little time in which a bond was able to be established between parents and children. Ražnatović's parents eventually divorced during his teenage years.

Ražnatović was arrested for the first time in 1966 for snatching women's purses around Tašmajdan Park,{{cite web|author=Filip Svarm|url=http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=906970|title=Arkanova ostavština|publisher=Vreme.com|date=14 January 2010}} spending a year at a juvenile detention center not far from Belgrade. His father then sent him to the seaside town of Kotor in order to join the Yugoslav Navy, but Ražnatović had other plans (ending up in Paris at the age of 15). In 1969, Ražnatović was arrested by French police and deported home, where he was sentenced to three years at the detention center in Valjevo for several burglaries. During this time, he organized his own gang in the prison.

In his youth, Ražnatović was a ward of his father's friend,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=La3sAAAAMAAJ |title=Danas - Google Boeken |date=18 December 2009 |pages=56 |access-date=1 March 2014}} the Slovenian politician and Federal Minister of the Interior, Stane Dolanc. Dolanc was chief of the Directorate for State Security (UDBA) and a close associate of President Josip Broz Tito. Whenever Ražnatović was in trouble, Dolanc helped him, allegedly as a reward for his services to the UDBA, as seen in the escape from the Lugano prison in 1981. Dolanc is quoted as having said: "One Arkan is worth more than the whole UDBA."{{cite book|title=Partners in Crime: The Risks of Symbiosis Between the Security Sector and Organized Crime in Southeast Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMGxXQpfvWUC&pg=PA42|year=2004|publisher=CSD|isbn=978-954-477-115-7|pages=42–}}

In 1972, aged 20, Ražnatović migrated to Western Europe. Abroad, he was introduced to and kept contact with many well-known criminals from Yugoslavia, such as Ljuba Zemunac, Ranko Rubežić, Đorđe "Giška" Božović, and Goran Vuković, all of whom were also occasionally contracted by the UDBA, and all of whom have since been assassinated or otherwise died. Ražnatović took the nickname "Arkan" from one of his forged passports. On 28 December 1973, he was arrested in Belgium following a bank robbery, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1974, Ražnatović was active in Sweden and among other crimes robbed a bank in Kungälv.{{Cite web |last=Johansson |first=Kristian |date=2023-12-26 |title=Anne-Marie var med om bankrånet på Nordmannatorget 1974 |url=https://www.kungalvsposten.se/nyheter/anne-marie-var-med-om-bankranet-pa-nordmannatorget-1974.cafb7933-c331-4564-a771-3e466112af7e |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Kungälvs-Posten |language=sv}}

Ražnatović managed to escape from the Verviers prison on 4 July 1979. Although he was apprehended in the Netherlands on 24 October 1979, the few months he was free were enough for at least two more armed robberies in Sweden and three more in the Netherlands. Serving a seven-year sentence at a prison in Amsterdam, Ražnatović pulled off another escape on 8 May 1981 after someone slipped him a gun. Wasting no time, more robberies followed, this time in West Germany, where after less than a month of freedom he was arrested in Frankfurt on 5 June 1981 following a jewellery store stickup. In the ensuing shootout with police he was lightly wounded, resulting in his placement in the prison hospital ward. Looser security allowed Ražnatović to escape again only four days later, on 9 June, supposedly by jumping from the window, beating up the first passerby and stealing his clothing before disappearing. His final Western European arrest occurred in Basel, Switzerland, during a routine traffic check on 15 February 1983. However, he managed to escape again within months, this time from Thorberg prison on 27 April.

It is widely speculated that Ražnatović was closely affiliated with the UDBA throughout his criminal career abroad. He had convictions or warrants in Belgium (bank robberies, prison escape), the Netherlands (armed robberies, prison escape), Sweden (twenty burglaries, seven bank robberies, prison escape, attempted murder),{{Cite web |date=2014-03-01 |title=Aftonbladet nyheter: Kriget om Kosovo |url=http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/9903/31/kosovo5.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301221147/http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/9903/31/kosovo5.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-03-01 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} West Germany (armed robberies, prison escape), Austria, Switzerland (armed robberies, prison escape), and Italy.{{Cite web |date=2017-10-26 |title=Vreme 993 - Deset godina od ubistva Zeljka Raznatovica: Arkanova ostavstina |url=http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=906970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026053638/http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=906970 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-10-26 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} Ražnatović had achieved the status in the Belgrade underworld of earning "strahopoštovanje", a Serbo-Croat phrase that roughly translates as being "respected for fear".{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=321}} Strahopoštovanje was generally achieved in the Yugoslav underworld by committing violent crimes in Western Europe, being arrested and convicted, serving a sentence in a Western European prison, and terrorizing the other inmates to such an extent that the said criminal became the most feared inmate in the prison.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=321}} In the macho world of the Yugoslav underworld, having strahopoštovanje status was seen as proof of a criminal's toughness and masculinity.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=321}}

Ražnatović returned to Belgrade in May 1983, continuing his criminal career by managing a number of illegal activities. In November of that year, six months after his return, a bank in Zagreb was robbed with the thieves leaving a rose on the counter (allegedly Ražnatović's signature from his robberies in Western Europe). Looking to question Ražnatović about his whereabouts during the robbery, two policemen, members of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs' (SUP) Tenth department from the Belgrade municipality of Palilula, showed up in civilian clothing at his mother's apartment on 27 March Street in Belgrade. Ražnatović happened to not be home at the moment, so the policemen introduced themselves to his mother as "friends of her son looking to return a cash debt they owed him" and asked the woman if they could wait for him to return to the apartment. Ražnatović's mother phoned him to say that two unknown males waited for him. Ražnatović showed up with a revolver and proceeded to shoot and wound both policemen. He was detained immediately; however, barely 48 hours later, he was released. The occurrence made it clear to all observers, especially his criminal rivals, that he enjoyed protection from the highest echelons of the Yugoslav state security establishment.

Ražnatović spent the mid-1980s running the Amadeus discothèque together with Žika Živac and Tapi Malešević. Located in the Tašmajdan neighbourhood, the nightclub was reportedly another perk of their contractual work for the UDBA. Moreover, Ražnatović could be seen driving around Belgrade in a pink Cadillac and gambling on roulette in casinos all over the country, from Belgrade (Hotel "Slavija") and nearby Pančevo to Sveti Stefan (Hotel Maestral on the Miločer beach) and Portorož (Hotel Metropol).

An avid gambler, following a private game of poker in an apartment at Ive Lole Ribara Street in Belgrade, Ražnatović got into an elevator altercation with a tenant from the apartment building, reportedly breaking the man's arm after beating him with a gun. Ražnatović could not avoid being charged this time and the trial saw a notable exchange between him and the judge; during the pre-session identification, Ražnatović stated he was an employee of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs (SUP). When this was challenged by the prosecutor, Ražnatović produced a document summarizing a mortgage loan he obtained from the UDBA for his house at Ljutice Bogdana Street. He ended up receiving a six-month sentence, which he served at the Belgrade Central Prison. In the late 1980s, a football hooligan subculture had emerged in Yugoslavia and the unruly and rowdy fans of the Red Star Belgrade football team were seen as a major social problem.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=319}} At the request of the Ministry of the Interior, Ražnatović took over the Delije ("Heroes") fan club of Red Star Belgrade in an attempt to impose some control on the hooligans.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=319}} Ražnatović quickly became a hero to the Delije club by his ability to arrange for them to go to Western Europe whenever Red Star Belgrade played a game in a Western European city.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=319}}

Only days after the 1990 Croatian multi-party election, Ražnatović, who was the leader of the Delije (hooligan supporters of the football club Red Star Belgrade), was present at the away game against Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb at Stadion Maksimir on 13 May, a match that ended in the infamous Dinamo–Red Star riot.{{cite web|url=http://dalje.com/en-sports/video--day-when-maksimir-stadium-went-up-in-flames/257791 |title=VIDEO: Day When Maksimir Stadium Went up in Flames |publisher=Dalje.com |date=13 May 2009 |access-date=1 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301221046/http://dalje.com/en-sports/video--day-when-maksimir-stadium-went-up-in-flames/257791 |archive-date=1 March 2014 }} Ražnatović and the Delije, consisting of 1,500 people, were involved in a massive fight with the home team's football hooligans.{{cite web|url=http://www.tol.org/client/article/5707-football-is-war.html|title=Football is War|date=15 March 1999 |publisher=Tol.org|access-date=1 March 2014}} On 11 October 1990, as the political situation in Yugoslavia became tense, Ražnatović created a paramilitary group named the Serb Volunteer Guard. Ražnatović was the supreme commander of the unit, which was primarily made up of members of the Delije and his personal friends.{{cite book|title=Football Hooligans, and War|author=Ivan Čolović|publisher=Central European University Press|year=2000}}Nebojsa Popov, Drinka Gojkovic; (1999) The Road to War in Serbia: Trauma and Catharsis p. 388; Central European University Press, {{ISBN|9639116564}}Michael A. Innes; (2006) Bosnian Security after Dayton: New Perspectives (Contemporary Security Studies) p. 75; Routledge, {{ISBN|041565369X}}

In late October 1990, Ražnatović traveled to Knin to meet representatives of the SAO Krajina, a Serb break-away region that sought to remain in FR Yugoslavia, as opposed to the Croatian government that seceded. On 29 November, Croatian police arrested him at the Croatian-Bosnian border crossing Dvor na Uni along with local Dušan Carić and Belgraders Dušan Bandić and Zoran Stevanović. Ražnatović's entourage was sent to Sisak and was charged with conspiracy to overthrow the newly formed Croatian state. Ražnatović was sentenced to twenty months in jail. He was released from Zagreb's Remetinec prison on 14 June 1991. It has been claimed that the Croatian and Serbian governments agreed on a DM1 million settlement for his release.{{cite web|title=Hrvatska za Arkana dobila milion maraka|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/01/18/srpski/H00011704.shtm|work=Glas-javnosti|publisher=Arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}} (in Serbian)

In July 1991, Ražnatović stayed for some time at the Cetinje monastery, with Metropolitan Amfilohije Radović. His group of men, fully armed, were allowed to enter the monastery, where they served as security.{{cite web|url=http://www.e-novine.com/srbija/srbija-licnosti/32577-Zvijer-bezdana.html|title=Zvijer iz bezdana |publisher=e-novine.com|access-date=1 March 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Drustvo/74645/Kozaci-ne-obezbedjuju-manastir|title=Kozaci ne obezbeđuju manastir|date=17 January 2009 |publisher=Blic.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}} Ražnatović's group traveled from Cetinje to the Siege of Dubrovnik. On his return from Dubrovnik, he was again a guest at Cetinje.

The Serb Volunteer Guard, also known as "Arkan's Tigers", was organized as an elite paramilitary force supporting the Serb armies, set up in a former military facility in Erdut. The force, led by Ražnatović and Milorad Ulemek,{{cite news |last1=Ristic |first1=Marija |last2=Dragojlo |first2=Sasa |date=31 May 2016 |title=Legija: Killer Kingpin in Serbia's Courtroom Dramas |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2016/05/31/legija-killer-kingpin-in-serbia-s-courtroom-dramas-05-31-2016/ |work=Balkan Insight}} consisted of a core of 600 men and perhaps totaled more than 5,000 soldiers,{{Cite news |last=Stojanovic |first=Milica |date=23 March 2023 |title=Serbia Urged to Prosecute Arkan's Paramilitaries for War Crimes |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2023/03/23/serbia-urged-to-prosecute-arkans-paramilitaries-for-war-crimes/ |work=Balkan Insight}} and it was much feared by the public.Vasic, "Yugoslav Army" p. 134; UN experts Final Report par. 92, 139{{Cite journal |last=Mueller |first=John |date=2000-06-22 |title=The Banality of "Ethnic War" |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=01622889&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA65142948&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=International Security |language=English |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=42|doi=10.1162/016228800560381 |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite news |last1=Dzidic |first1=Denis |last2=Ristic |first2=Marija |last3=Domanovic |first3=Milka |last4=Çollaku |first4=Petrit |last5=Milekic |first5=Sven |date=8 December 2014 |title=Arkan's Paramilitaries: Tigers Who Escaped Justice |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2014/12/08/arkan-s-paramilitaries-tigers-who-escaped-justice/ |work=Balkan Insight}} Under Arkan's command the SDG massacred hundreds of people in eastern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.Tony Judt; (2006) Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, chapter XXI; Penguin Books, {{ISBN| 0143037757}} It saw action from mid-1991 until late 1995, and was supplied and equipped privately, by the reserves of the Serbian police force or through capturing enemy arms.

When the Croatian War of Independence broke out in 1991, the SDG was active in the Vukovar region, committing crimes against Croat and Hungarian civilians in Dalj, Erdut, Tenja and other areas. After the Bosnian War broke out in April 1992, the unit moved between the Croatian and Bosnian fronts, engaging in multiple instances of ethnic cleansing by killing and forcefully deporting mostly Bosniak civilians. In Croatia, it fought in various areas in SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia. Ražnatović, reportedly, had a dispute over military operations with Krajina leader Milan Martić.{{cite web|url=http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/serbian_digest/108/t108-4.htm|title=Vreme News Digest Agency No 108|publisher=Scc.rutgers.edu|date=18 October 1993|access-date=1 March 2014|archive-date=22 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622034236/http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/serbian_digest/108/t108-4.htm|url-status=dead}} In Bosnia, the SDG notably fought in battles in and around Zvornik, Bijeljina and Brčko, mostly against Bosniak and Bosnian Croat paramilitary groups, including killings of civilians.

Ražnatović was favored by the Serbian authorities because as a gangster and a football hooligan he seemed to have no political ambitions and hence posed no threat to the regime of Slobodan Milošević.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=317-319}} However, he started to show signs of wanting to move beyond organised crime, founding his own political party, the Party for Serbian Unity, in 1992.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} He also became the owner of the casino in the Hotel Jugoslavija along with a radio station, a shipping company and a brand of wine named Erdut after the base of the Tiger militia.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} The SDG served as much of a criminal organisation as a para-military group, and was involved in smuggling petrol into Serbia from Romania and Bulgaria in defiance of the United Nations sanctions imposed on Serbia in May 1992.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} Ražnatović's petrol smuggling brought him into conflict with Marko Milošević, the son of Slobodan, who from 1994 onwards was said to be trying to monopolise the petrol smuggling.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} In the summer of 1995, the Serbian state curtailed the supply of arms to the SDG, which was said to have been a punishment for competing with Marko Milošević.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}}

In late 1995, Ražnatović's troops fought in the area of Banja Luka, Sanski Most and Prijedor. In October 1995, he left Sanski Most as the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina reclaimed the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/vt2/sanskimost/u_spomen_/u_spomen_na_ubijene_sanjane.htm|title=U spomen na ubijene Sanjane|publisher=Angelfire.com|access-date=1 March 2014}} Ražnatović personally led most of the operations, and rewarded his most efficient officers and soldiers with ranks, medals and eventually looted goods. Several younger soldiers were rewarded for their actions in and around Kopački Rit and Bijelo Brdo. Ražnatović reportedly sent one of his most trusted men, Radovan Stanišić, to Italy to start a relationship with Camorra boss Francesco Schiavone. According to Roberto Saviano, Schiavone eased arms smuggling to Serbia by stopping the Albanian mobsters' blocking of weapons routes, and helped money transfer into Serbia in the form of humanitarian aid amid the international sanctions. In exchange, the Camorra acquired companies, enterprises, shops and farms in Serbia at optimal prices.{{cite web|url=http://www.giugenna.com/2003/07/13/roberto-saviano-scampia-erzegovina|title=Roberto Saviano. "Scampia-Erzegovina"|author=Giuseppe Genna|date=13 July 2003 |publisher=Giugenna.com|access-date=1 March 2014}}

Ražnatović has been accused of kidnapping Serb refugees who had fled to Serbia from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and forcing them into conscription.{{cite web |last1=Grihovic |first1=Marina |title=Serbia: Refugee conscripts fight for justice |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/bosnia-and-herzegovina/serbia-refugee-conscripts-fight-justice |website=Relief Web |publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting |access-date=3 January 2022 |date=October 2001}} After Operation Storm in Croatia resulted in the collapse of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and exodus of Serb refugees fleeing to Serbia, the Serbian Interior Ministry rounded up over 5,000 refugees to conscript into the SDG.{{cite web |title=Forcible mobilisation in Serbia |url=https://ratusrbiji.rs/en/forcible-mobilisation-in-serbia/ |website=Rat u Srbiji|date=7 April 2020 }} Military-aged men were forcibly rounded up after arriving in Serbia by local police and then sent to detention camp in Erdut against their will and without informing their families.{{cite web |title=Serbia Sent Refugees from Croatia, Bosnia to Frontlines: Report |url=https://detektor.ba/2019/11/13/serbia-sent-refugees-from-croatia-bosnia-to-frontlines-report/?lang=en |website=Detektor |publisher=BIRN |access-date=3 January 2022 |date=13 November 2019}} Once in Erdut, the refugees' heads were shaved and all valuables were confiscated. The men were then subjected to days of physical and psychological torture from the SDG guards, which included extreme physical exercises, routine beatings, and often being subjected to humiliating acts.{{cite web |title=Dossier: Forcible Mobilisation of Refugees |url=http://www.hlc-rdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dossier_Forcible_Mobilisation_of_Refugees.pdf |publisher=Humanitarian Law Center |date=2019}} Ražnatović had been giving speeches accusing the refugees of being cowards and traitors, blaming them for the loss of RSK. Belgrade's Humanitarian Law Center has represented over 100 people suing the state of Serbia for forced mobilisation.{{cite web |last1=Stojanovic |first1=Milica |title=Serbia Sent Refugees from Croatia, Bosnia to Frontlines: Report |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/11/13/serbia-sent-refugees-from-croatia-bosnia-to-frontlines-report/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=13 November 2019 |publisher=BIRN |access-date=3 January 2022}}

Ražnatović came to serve as a popular icon for both Serbs and their enemies. For some Serbs he was a patriot and folk hero, while serving as an object of hatred and fear to Croats and Bosniaks. In the postwar period after the Dayton Agreement was signed,{{cite news |date=14 December 2010 |title=15 years ago, Dayton Peace Accords: a milestone for NATO and the Balkans |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_69290.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217163011/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_69290.htm |archive-date=17 February 2020 |access-date=18 July 2015 |publisher=NATO}} Ražnatović returned to his interests in sport and private business. The SDG was officially disbanded in April 1996, with the threat of being reactivated in case of war. In June of that year he took over a second division football team, FK Obilić, which he soon turned into a top caliber club, even winning the 1997–98 FR Yugoslav League championship.

According to Franklin Foer, in his book How Soccer Explains the World, Ražnatović threatened players on opposing teams if they scored against Obilić.{{Cite book|last=Foer|first=Franklin|title=How soccer explains the world|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2004|isbn=978-0-06-621234-0|location=New York|pages=26–27}} This threat was underlined by the thousands of SDG veterans that filled his team's home field, chanting threats, and on occasion pointing pistols at opposing players during matches. One player told the British football magazine FourFourTwo that he was locked in a garage when his team played Obilić. Europe's football governing body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), considered prohibiting Obilić from participation in continental competitions because of its connections to Ražnatović. In response to this, Ražnatović stepped away from the position of president and gave his seat to his wife Svetlana. In a 2006 interview, Dragoslav Šekularac (who was coach of Obilić while Ražnatović was with the club) said claims that Ražnatović verbally and physically assaulted Obilić players were false.{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanbookcircle.com/get-out-of-here-i-am-sekularac-by-prvoslav-vujcic.html |last=Vujcic|first=Prvoslav|authorlink=Prvoslav Vujcic|agency=Urban Book Circle |title=Get Out of Here, I am Sekularac |access-date=2024-12-21 |date=2006-06-06 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329002626/http://www.urbanbookcircle.com/get-out-of-here-i-am-sekularac-by-prvoslav-vujcic.html |archive-date=29 March 2024 |url-status=}} Ražnatović was a chairman of the Yugoslav Kickboxing Association.

Many of the former members of "Arkan Tigers" are prominent figures in Serbia, maintaining close ties between each other and with Russian nationalist organisations. Jugoslav Simić and Svetozar Pejović posed with Russian Night Wolves, Ceca performed for Vladimir Putin during his visit in Serbia, Srđan Golubović is a popular trance performer known as "DJ Max" and was identified by Rolling Stone as the SDG soldier kicking dead bodies of a Bosniak family in Bijeljina on a photo from 1992.{{Cite web |title=The DJ and the War Crimes — Rolling Stone |url=https://investigation.rollingstone.com/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=investigation.rollingstone.com}} Ražnatović came to take on the attributes of a hajduk (the term for a Serb bandit during the Ottoman empire), and he was celebrated in "militaristic nationalist circles" for his criminal-military exploits.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=321}} The German political Klaus Schlichte wrote that Ražnatović was the "most military" of the various Serb para-military leaders in the Bosnian war, and that his primary motive in the war was greed as he seemed all too interested in looting.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320-321}} However, Schlichte noted that Ražnatović's attempts at political career and his frequent appearances to the Serb media suggest he had wider ambitions beyond greed.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=321}}

According to chief judge Richard May from the United Kingdom, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued an indictment against Ražnatović on 30 September 1997 for war crimes of genocide or massacre against the Bosniak population, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.{{cite web |title=Tribunal against Željko Ražnatović also known as "Arkan" - INDICTMENT |first=Louise (Prosecutor) |last=Arbour |date=23 September 1997 |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |location=The Hague |url=https://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/ark-ii970930e.htm |access-date=1 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205143944/https://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/ark-ii970930e.htm |archive-date=5 December 2004}} The warrant was not made public until 31 March 1999, a week after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia had begun, as intervention in the Kosovo War. Ražnatović's indictment was made public by the UN court's chief prosecutor Louise Arbour.{{Cite web |title=Indictments {{!}} International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |url=http://www.icty.org/en/content/indictments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204015544/http://www.icty.org/en/content/indictments |archive-date=2017-02-04 |access-date=2017-01-25 |website=Icty.org |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2015-02-11 |title=BBC News {{!}} Europe {{!}} Arkan wanted by UN tribunal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/308876.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211144437/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/308876.stm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-02-11 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} In the week before the start of NATO bombing, as the Rambouillet talks collapsed, Ražnatović appeared at the Hyatt hotel in Belgrade, where most Western journalists were staying, and ordered all of them to leave Serbia.{{cite magazine|last=Karon|first=Tony|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,22121,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209020810/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,22121,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 December 2012|title=Serbs Unplug CNN|magazine=Time|date=25 March 1999|access-date=1 March 2014}}

During the NATO bombing, Ražnatović denied the war crime charges against him in interviews he gave to foreign reporters. Ražnatović accused NATO of bombing civilians and creating refugees of all ethnicities, and stated that he would deploy his troops only in the case of a direct NATO ground invasion. After the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which killed three journalists and led to a diplomatic row between the United States and the China, The Observer and Politiken newspapers claimed the building might have been targeted because the office of the Chinese military attaché was being used by Ražnatović to communicate and transmit messages to his paramilitary group in Kosovo. As neither paper offered any proof for this claim it was largely ignored by the media.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/koSovo/press/b990508a.htm|title=Morning Briefing|access-date=25 October 2009|date=8 May 1999|publisher=NATO Press Office}}{{Cite web |date=2009-07-24 |title=NATO Speech: Briefing Shea - 8 May 1999 |url=http://www.nato.int/kosovo/press/b990508a.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724081720/http://www.nato.int/kosovo/press/b990508a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-07-24 |access-date=2024-05-20 }}

During an interview with Western journalists, while the three-month period of the NATO bombing was ongoing, Ražnatović showed a small rubber part of the F-117A downed by the Yugoslav army (one of only five NATO aircraft destroyed on 38,000 sorties),{{Cite report |title=NATO's Air War for Kosovo: A Strategic and Operational Assessment |first=Benjamin S. |last=Lambeth |publisher=RAND Corporation |location=Santa Monica |year=2001 |chapter=Chapter Three: The Air War Unfolds |chapter-url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1365/MR1365.ch3.pdf |page=61 |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1365.html |access-date=2 January 2021 |isbn=0-8330-3050-7}}{{Cite web |date=2015-12-26 |title=MOGU DA POLOMIM F-117A: Evo kako je ARKAN uništio ponos Amerike i "nevidljivi" bombarder! (VIDEO) {{!}} Telegraf – Najnovije vesti |url=http://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1496575-mogu-da-polomim-f-117a-evo-kako-je-arkan-unistio-ponos-amerike-i-nevidljivi-bombarder-video |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226141031/http://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1496575-mogu-da-polomim-f-117a-evo-kako-je-arkan-unistio-ponos-amerike-i-nevidljivi-bombarder-video |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-12-26 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} which he had taken as "a souvenir"; Yugoslav media falsely proclaimed that Ražnatović had downed the stealth fighter.{{Cite news |title=MOGU DA POLOMIM F-117A: Evo kako je ARKAN uništio ponos Amerike i "nevidljivi" bombarder! |language=bs |trans-title=I CAN BREAK THE F-117A: Here's how the ARCAN destroyed America's pride and the "invisible" bomber! |date=27 March 2015 |newspaper=Telegraf |url=http://www.telegraf.rs/vesti/politika/1496575-mogu-da-polomim-f-117a-evo-kako-je-arkan-unistio-ponos-amerike-i-nevidljivi-bombarder-video |access-date=25 December 2015}}

In March 1999, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced that Ražnatović had been indicted by the Tribunal, although the indictment was only made public after his assassination. According to the indictment, Ražnatović was to have been prosecuted on 24 charges of crimes against humanity (Art. 5 ICTY Statute), grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions (Art. 2 ICTY Statute) and violations of the laws of war (Art. 3 ICTY Statute), for the following acts:{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/zeljko_raznjatovic/ind/en/ark-ii970930e.pdf|title=Ražnatović: Initial Indictment|access-date=1 March 2014}}{{Cite web |date=23 September 1997 |title=THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL AGAINST ZELJKO RAZNJATOVIC also known as "ARKAN" |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/zeljko_raznjatovic/ind/en/ark-ii970930e.pdf}}

• Forcibly detaining approximately thirty non-Serb men and one woman, without food or water, in an inadequately ventilated boiler room of approximately {{convert|5|m2|spell=in}} in size.
• Transporting twelve non-Serb men from Sanski Most to an isolated location in the village of Trnova and shooting them, where they shot and killed eleven of the men and critically wounded the twelfth.
• Transporting approximately sixty-seven Bosniak men from Sanski Most, Šehovci, and Pobriježe to an isolated location in the village of Sasina, and shooting them, killing sixty-five of the captives and wounding two survivors.
• Forcibly detaining approximately thirty-five Muslim Bosnian men in an inadequately ventilated room of about {{convert|5|m2|spell=in}} in size, withholding from them food and water, resulting in the deaths of two men.
• The rape of a Muslim woman on a bus outside the Hotel Sanus in Sanski Most.

Following Ražnatović's assassination in 2000, ICTY Prosecutor Carla del Ponte said she was "confident, however, that other persons who shared responsibility with [him] for his crimes will ultimately be brought to justice."{{cite web |title=Statement by Madame Carla Del Ponte Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia following Reports of the Death of "Arkan". {{!}} International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |url=https://www.icty.org/en/sid/7909 |website=www.icty.org |publisher=International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia |date=17 January 2000 |access-date=13 April 2024}}

File:Continental Hotel Belgrade.jpg

In the late 1990s, Ražnatović became an isolated figure in Belgrade who rarely went outside without his bodyguards.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} Between 1995-2000, there were over 500 gangland murders in Belgrade, virtually none of which were solved by the police.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} A number of the gangsters killed were associates of Ražnatović, which was seen as a sign that he had lost his political protection.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}} Together with his wife, Ražnatović virtually lived in the lounges of international hotels in Belgrade, apparently out of the hope he would not be killed in a place where so many foreign journalists were present.{{sfn|Schlichte|2010|p=320}}

Ražnatović was assassinated, 15 January 2000, 17:05 GMT, in the lobby of the Hotel InterContinental in New Belgrade,{{Cite web |title=BELGRADE: WARLORD ARKAN SHOT & KILLED {{!}} AP Archive |url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/4e860b366cca2bdb2a1c30441b5e1fdd |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.aparchive.com}} in a location where he was surrounded by other hotel guests. The killer, Dobrosav Gavrić, a 23-year-old junior police mobile brigade member, had ties to the underworld and was on sick leave at the time.{{Cite web |title=Three Serbs Arrested in Slaying of Arkan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-01/23/092r-012300-idx.html |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=www.washingtonpost.com}} He walked up alone toward his target from behind. Ražnatović was sitting and chatting with two friends and, according to BBC Radio, was filling out a betting slip. Gavrić waited for a few minutes, calmly walked up behind the party, and rapidly fired a succession of bullets from his CZ99 pistol. Ražnatović was hit in his left eye and became unconscious on the spot.{{Cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/01/17/arkan.killing|title=Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News|publisher=Archives.cnn.com|access-date=1 March 2014|archive-date=18 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218185524/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/01/17/arkan.killing/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/605172.stm|title=Serbian warlord shot dead|work=BBC News|date=15 January 2000|access-date=1 March 2014}} His bodyguard Zvonko Mateović put him into a car, and rushed him to a hospital; he died on the way.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1069219|title=Arkan Dead|publisher=NPR|date=15 January 2000|access-date=1 March 2014}}

According to his widow Svetlana, Ražnatović died in her arms as they were driving to the hospital. His companions Milenko Mandić, a business manager, and Dragan Garić, a police inspector, were also shot dead by Gavrić, who in turn was shot and wounded by Mateović. A female bystander was also seriously wounded in the shootout. After complicated surgery, Gavrić survived, but was disabled from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair.{{Cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=2001-03-07 |title=Serbian Pop Star Faces Suspected Killer of Her Warlord Husband |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/07/world/serbian-pop-star-faces-suspected-killer-of-her-warlord-husband.html |access-date=2022-11-08 |issn=0362-4331}}

File:Arkanov grob.jpg

A memorial ceremony in Ražnatović's honour was held on 19 January 2000, with writer Branislav Crnčević, Yugoslav Left official Aleksandar Vulin, singers Oliver Mandić, Toni Montano, and Zoran Kalezić, along with the entire first team of FK Obilić, including club director Dragoslav Šekularac, in attendance.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-02 |title=Šta je ostalo od Arkanove garde - Kriminal - Nedeljnik Vreme |url=https://www.vreme.com/vreme/sta-je-ostalo-od-arkanove-garde/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102203338/https://www.vreme.com/vreme/sta-je-ostalo-od-arkanove-garde/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-01-02 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} Ražnatović was buried at the Belgrade New Cemetery with military honours by his volunteers{{Cite web |title=Arkan Buried in Belgrade |url=https://apnews.com/article/ff90b8421c9842bd22f92956bb29652a |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}} and with funeral rites on 20 January 2000. Sources dispute the number of people that attended, but most sources state between 2,000{{Cite web |date=2007-07-08 |title=BBC News {{!}} EUROPE {{!}} In pictures: Arkan is buried |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/612295.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708124334/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/612295.stm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-07-08 |access-date=2024-05-20 }} to 10,000 people attended the funeral.{{Cite web |title=Warlord, Now a Serbian Patriot, Is Buried |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/012100serbia-arkan.html |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}{{Cite web |date=2000-01-21 |title=Arkan buried: 'Tigers' militia salute Serb warlord |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/21/balkans |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

Dobrosav Gavrić pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to 19 years in prison. His accomplices received from 3 to 15 years each, after a year-long trial in 2002. However, the district court verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court because of "lack of evidence and vagueness of the first trial process". A new trial was conducted in 2006, ending on 9 October 2006 with guilty verdicts upheld for Gavrić as well as his accomplices, Milan Đuričić and Dragan Nikolić. Gavrić was sentenced to 30 years in prison, as well as Đuričić and Nikolić, for murder in complicity.[http://mondo.rs/a47127/Info/Srbija/Sedam-godina-od-ubistva-Arkana.html Sedam godina od ubistva Arkana]; mondo.rs, 15 January 2007.

Prior to carrying out his sentence, however, Gavrić obtained a passport from Bosnia and Herzegovina under the name Saša Kovačević and fled Serbia. In March 2011, he was driving a crime boss, Cyril Beeka, in Cape Town, South Africa when a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on them, killing Beeka and wounding Gavrić. Cocaine was found in the vehicle they were in, leading to Gavrić being fingerprinted and his true identity discovered. Since that time, he has been incarcerated in South Africa and fighting his extradition to Serbia where his 2006 sentence awaits him. {{As of|February 2021}}, he is still fighting his extradition to Serbia in South African courts.{{Cite web |last=Dolley |first=Caryn |date=2021-02-10 |title=UNDERWORLD SAGA: A jailed Serbian assassin's 10-year battle against extradition from SA – and his failed bids for freedom |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-10-a-jailed-serbian-assassins-10-year-battle-against-extradition-from-sa-and-his-failed-bids-for-freedom/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219164414/https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-10-a-jailed-serbian-assassins-10-year-battle-against-extradition-from-sa-and-his-failed-bids-for-freedom/ |archive-date=2022-12-19 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}

Ražnatović fathered nine children by five different women.{{Cite web|author=Tomislav Nikolić|url=http://www.kurir-info.rs/clanak/crna-hronika/kurir-29-06-2008/ameri|title=Ameri - Kurir|publisher=Kurir-info.rs|access-date=1 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207131354/http://kurir-info.rs/clanak/crna-hronika/kurir-29-06-2008/ameri|archive-date=7 February 2009|url-status=dead}} His eldest son Mihajlo was born in Gothenburg, in 1975, from a relationship with a Swedish woman. In 1992, 17-year-old Mihajlo decided to move to Serbia to live with his father. During this time the teenager was photographed wearing the uniform of his father's paramilitary unit during the Yugoslav Wars and according to a Swedish tabloid report the youngster participated in combat operations in Srebrenica.{{Cite web|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/de-skulle-avratta-srebrenica-fangar|title=De skulle avrätta Srebrenica-fångar|publisher=Expressen.se|date=11 July 2005|access-date=1 March 2014}} Mihajlo has since lived in Belgrade where he played for the Red Star Belgrade ice-hockey club off and on between 2000 and 2009, also representing Serbia-Montenegro on the national team level between 2002 and 2004.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?statsleague=NLA&player=69700&team=&year=&status=&leagueid=&season=|title=Mihajlo Raznatovic|publisher=Eliteprospects.com|date=10 March 1975|access-date=1 March 2014}} During this time he also ran a sushi restaurant in Belgrade called Iki Bar and dated Macedonian pop singer Karolina Gočeva.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blic.rs/stara_arhiva/zabava/57157/Srecan-sam-sa-Karolinom|title=Stara arhiva|publisher=Blic.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}} He left Serbia after that. In 2013 he was in the news in Serbia again following the conclusion of a court case that had dragged on since 2005 over Ražnatović's failure to meet the repayment terms on a RSD1.1 million car loan he took out in 2002 from Komercijalna Banka. After continually failing to meet his monthly payments, the bank wanted the loan paid off in full in August 2005, and two years later took him to court. In June 2010 he was ordered to pay RSD3.3 million based upon the interest on the original loan.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alo.rs/vesti/51754/Sud_jurio_Arkanovog_sina_u_Cecinoj_vili |title=Stari ALO! - Sud jurio Arkanovog sina u Cecinoj vili! |publisher=Alo.rs |date=24 July 2012 |access-date=1 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825222656/http://www.alo.rs/vesti/51754/Sud_jurio_Arkanovog_sina_u_Cecinoj_vili |archive-date=25 August 2012 }} In the end, the verdict stated he owed the bank RSD2.9 million.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alo.rs/vesti/aktuelno/arkanov-sin-mora-da-vrati-tri-miliona-dinara/15286|title=Arkanov sin mora da vrati tri miliona dinara!|publisher=Alo.rs|access-date=1 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203173225/http://www.alo.rs/vesti/aktuelno/arkanov-sin-mora-da-vrati-tri-miliona-dinara/15286|archive-date=3 February 2014|url-status=dead}}

In June 1994, sometime after her separation from Ražnatović, Natalija Martinović and their four children left Serbia and moved to Athens, where he bought them an apartment in the suburb of Glyfada. After his assassination, Martinović disputed his will,{{Cite web|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/11/30/srpski/R00112702.shtm|title=Glas-javnosti (30 November 2000), a|publisher=Arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}}{{Cite web|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/12/02/srpski/R00120101.shtm|title=Glas-javnosti (2 December 2000)|publisher=Arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}} claiming that Svetlana doctored it. In May 2000, she sued Svetlana over Ražnatović's assets, including the villa at Ljutice Bogdana Street in which he and Svetlana lived, claiming it was built with funds from a bank loan Martinović and Ražnatović took out in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs/arhiva/2000/11/30/srpski/R00112701.shtm|title=Glas-javnosti (30 November 2000), b|publisher=Arhiva.glas-javnosti.rs|access-date=1 March 2014}} The court eventually ruled against Martinović.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=416198|title=Portret savremenika - Svetlana Ceca Raznatovic: Zitije sa pevanjem i pucanjem|date=18 May 2005 |publisher=Vreme.com|access-date=1 March 2014}} The court agreed with her assertions that the villa was built with money from a 1985 bank loan taken out by her and Ražnatović, but ruled she had forfeited any rights in future division of that asset when she signed the property over to Ražnatović in 1994 before moving to Greece.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

In 2012, Ražnatović's son Vojin Martinović again accused Svetlana of falsifying his father's will.{{Cite web|url=http://www.alo.rs/vesti/44988/Ceca_je_lazirala_Arkanov_testament |title=Stari ALO! - Ceca je lažirala Arkanov testament! |publisher=Alo.rs |access-date=1 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622075756/http://www.alo.rs/vesti/44988/Ceca_je_lazirala_Arkanov_testament |archive-date=22 June 2012 }} In response, Ražnatović's former associate Borislav Pelević said that the villa at Ljutice Bogdana Street was not mentioned in the will as he had already signed it over to his second wife.{{cite web|url=http://www.vesti-online.com/Vesti/Hronika/192456/Cecine-vile-nema-u-Arkanovom-testamentu|title=Cecine vile nema u Arkanovom testamentu!|publisher=Vesti-online.com|access-date=1 March 2014}} Ražnatović and Ceca have a daughter and a son. Their daughter Anastasija Ražnatović sings on her mother's label, and publishes the songs on YouTube.{{cite web | url=https://www-telegraf-rs.translate.goog/jetset/vesti-jetset/3403039-anastasija-za-tri-godine-zaradila-500000-evra-za-7-pesama-inkasirala-bogatstvo?_x_tr_sl=sr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp | title=Anastasija za tri godine zaradila 500.000 evra - za 7 pesama inkasirala bogatstvo | date=12 October 2021 }}

• In October 1992, Arkan was confronted by Roger Cook for a special edition of ITV's The Cook Report.
• The History Channel's 2003 documentary Targeted includes a part on Željko Ražnatović, Baby Face Psycho.{{cite book|title=Targeted|year=2003|publisher=WorldCat|oclc=54754817}}
• In the 2008 Serbian film The Tour, a group of Serbian actors go on a tour in war-torn Bosnia. Among other factions, they meet an unnamed paramilitary unit wearing insignia similar to those of the Serb Volunteer Guard. The unit's commander, played by Sergej Trifunović, is possibly based on Željko Ražnatović.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
• In the 2012 Japanese anime Jormungand, one of the antagonists is Dragan Nikolaevich, commander of the Balkan Dragons. His looks and even his biography bear resounding resemblance to those of Arkan.
• In the 2014 Serbian docu-drama series Dosije: Beogradski klanovi, one of the episodes tells the story of Željko Ražnatović.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTWSZoDlE2I |title=Dosije:Beogradski Klanovi 1.deo (Arkan i Giska) |date=2019-07-23 |last=Dosije |access-date=2024-05-20 |via=YouTube}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite journal |last1=Schlichte |first1=Klaus |title=Na krilima patriotisma—On the Wings of Patriotism: Delegated and Spin-Off Violence in Serbia |journal=Armed Forces & Society |date=January 2010 |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=310-326}}
• {{Cite book|author=Stewart, Christopher S.|title=Hunting the Tiger: The Fast Life and Violent Death of the Balkans' Most Dangerous Man |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|date=8 January 2008|isbn=978-0-312-35606-4 }}
• {{Cite book|author=Vojin Ražnatović|title=Stories About My Father: An Intimate Portrayal Of Europe's Most Controversial Paramilitary Commander |publisher= CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|date=4 July 2014|isbn=978-1494311209}}
• {{Cite book|author=Marko Lopušina|title=Komandant Arkan|year=2001|publisher=Legenda|oclc=48273593|location=Čačak|language=sr}}
• {{Cite book|author=Živorad Lazić|title=Arkane, Srbine!|publisher=Grafiprof|location=Belgrade|language=sr}}
• {{Cite book|author=Vladan Dinić|title=Arkan, ni živ ni mrtav|location=Belgrade|language=sr}}

• Interview with Jim Laurie, 23 December 1991. {{YouTube|Yq3kaOBTLUE|Video}}
• Interview with local Bosnian Serb TV after takeover of Bijeljina, 1992. {{YouTube|N4md5ru6Q4U|Video}} {{In lang|sr}}
• Interview with RTV BK, 20 July 1997. {{YouTube|g3zhA6LyEHQ|Video}} {{In lang|sr}}
• Interview with BBC, 1999. {{YouTube|BhjH6TOW2jk|Video}} {{In lang|de|sr}}
• Interview with ABC, 6 April 1999.
• Interview with British reporter John Simpson, March 1999. {{YouTube|lYaC09xdC38|Video}}
• Interview during NATO bombings, 1999. {{YouTube|LzmLtrlNXpY|Video}} {{In lang|sr}}
• Interview with B92, April 1999. {{YouTube|LzmLtrlNXpY|Video}} {{In lang|sr}}

• {{Cite book|last=Tufegdžić|first=Vojislav|title=Vidimo se u čitulji - 20 godina posle|publisher=Oberon media|year=2015|isbn=978-86-80310-00-8|language=sr}}
• {{Cite book|last=Lobby|first=Marc|editor=Pavlović, Milica|title=Tajne službe Srbije, 1945-2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJ3aAAAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Политика|language=sr|isbn=9788633127493}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Čolović|first=Ivan|title=Od Delija do Tigrova|journal=Erasmus – časopis za kulturu demokracije|volume=10|year=1995|pages=60–62|language=sh}}
• {{Cite thesis|last=Mahkovic|first=Teja|title=Sodelovanje obveščevalno-varnostnih služb s kriminalci: študija primera Arkan|journal=Diss.|publisher=University of Maribor, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security|year=2016|url=https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=62908&lang=eng&prip=dkum:9119458:r1|type=thesis |language=sl}}
• Todorovic, Alex, and Kevin Whitelaw. "A mobster, a robber, a Serbian hero." U.S. News & World Report 31 January 2000.

{{Commons category|Željko Ražnatović}}

• [http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/arkan-s-paramilitaries-tigers-who-escaped-justice 'Arkan's Paramilitaries: Tigers Who Escaped Justice'] – Balkan Insight, 8 December 2014
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/605266.stm 'Gangster's life of Serb warlord'] – BBC News, 15 January 2000
• [https://www.theguardian.com/Kosovo/Story/0,,193497,00.html 'Arkan: Underworld boss of Milošević's murder squad'] – The Guardian, 19 January 2000
• [https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2001/feb/010222.haviv.html 'Blood and Honey – A Balkan War Journal'] – NPR, February 2001
• [http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/472/05.html 'Dosije Arkan'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318191843/http://www.vreme.com/arhiva_html/472/05.html |date=18 March 2013 }} – Vreme, November 2008

{{Yugoslav Wars}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkan}}

Category:1952 births

Category:2000 deaths

Category:People from Brežice

Category:Yugoslav criminals

Category:Slovenian criminals

Category:Serbian criminals

Category:Male criminals

Category:War criminals

Category:20th-century criminals

Category:Serbian gangsters

Category:Murdered Serbian gangsters

Category:People murdered in Serbia

Category:Party of Serbian Unity politicians

Category:Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)

Category:Candidates for President of Serbia

Category:Serbian nationalists

Category:Serbian soldiers

Category:Serbian bank robbers

Category:Security guards

Category:Yugoslav secret police agents

Category:Yugoslav escapees

Category:Yugoslav people imprisoned abroad

Category:Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia

Category:People indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

A

Category:Military personnel of the Bosnian War

Category:Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence

Category:Assassinated Serbian military personnel

Category:Assassinations in Serbia

Category:2000 murders in Serbia

Category:Deaths by firearm in Serbia

Category:Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery

Category:Warlords