Who was Stjepan Penić?

Stjepan Penić was a journalist for Croatian Radio Vukovar and a correspondent for Glas Slavonije and Večernji list. He was killed on August 6, 1991, in Dalj, becoming the first Croatian journalist to die in the Homeland War.

How was Stjepan Penić killed?

After the attack on Dalj by the JNA and Serbian paramilitary units on August 1, 1991, he was taken from his home. After being released and then detained again, he was subjected to torture and killed, according to data from the Croatian Journalists' Association.

How was Stjepan Penić honored?

The CJA posthumously awarded him a Special Recognition in 1993, and in 1994, a memorial plaque with his name was installed in Zagreb. The cultural and artistic society in Dalj also bears his name.

How many years have passed since his death?

Today, August 6, 2026, marks the 35th anniversary of his death.

Croatia

35 Years Since the Murder of Stjepan Penić

A.E. · Prije 2h | 2 min

Stjepan Penić, a journalist for Croatian Radio Vukovar and a correspondent for Glas Slavonije and Večernji list, was killed on August 6, 1991, in Dalj after being subjected to torture.

Summary

Stjepan Penić, a journalist for Croatian Radio Vukovar and a correspondent for Večernji list, was killed on August 6, 1991, in Dalj.
He was the first Croatian journalist to die in the Homeland War, and he was tortured before his death.
The CJA posthumously awarded him a Special Recognition in 1993, and a cultural and artistic society in Dalj also bears his name.
On the 35th anniversary of his death, he remains remembered as a symbol of courage for war correspondents.

Exactly 35 years have passed since August 6, 1991 - the day Stjepan Penić was killed in Dalj, becoming the first Croatian journalist to lose his life during the Homeland War. Born in 1937, Penić worked as a journalist for Croatian Radio Vukovar while also publishing in Glas Slavonije and Večernji list, leaving his sacrifice permanently etched into the history of Croatian journalism.

Released, Then Detained Again

The dramatic chain of events leading to his death began on August 1, 1991, when the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian paramilitary units attacked Dalj - the town where Penić lived with his family. That day, he was taken from his home, and after an initial interrogation, he was released. However, his freedom was short-lived: he was soon detained again.

According to data from the Croatian Journalists' Association, it was during this second detention that he was subjected to torture, and ultimately - on August 6, 1991 - he was killed.

Plaque, Award, and a Society Bearing His Name

In 1993, the CJA posthumously honored his sacrifice by awarding him a Special Recognition for Croatian journalists killed in the Homeland War, alongside other colleagues who lost their lives while reporting under wartime conditions. A year later, in 1994, a plaque bearing the names of journalists, cameramen, and technicians killed or deceased in the war was unveiled at the CJA building in Zagreb - among them is the name of Stjepan Penić.

His lasting legacy is also preserved by the cultural and artistic society in Dalj, which today bears his name - the Croatian Cultural and Artistic Society "Stjepan Penić". Three and a half decades after his death, Penić remains an example of courage for all journalists who, often risking their own lives, documented the truth about events on Croatian battlefields during the Homeland War.