The Vukovar County Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by the defence of former defence minister Mario Banozic against the exclusion of illegal evidence, thus confirming the decision of the Vinkovci Municipal Court, which had previously rejected the defence's motion.

Banozic’s defence, which referred to his involvement in a fatal traffic accident in November last year when he was still defence minister, argued for the exclusion of the forensic report and expert opinion prepared by the Ivan Vucetic Forensic Science Centre in March and April 2024.

According to the indictment, Banozic drove at an unsafe speed from Vinkovci to Zupanja and attempted to overtake a convoy of vehicles despite poor visibility due to fog.

During the manoeuvre, he crossed into the oncoming lane and collided with an oncoming van, whose 41-year-old driver, Goran Saric, died at the scene of the accident.