Žarko Laušević

Žarko Lauševic was a Serbian actor. Considered to be one of the most talented actors of his generation, Zarko Lausevic became a leading actor early in his career. By the age of 33, he was a major star across the former Yugoslavia on both stage and screen, displaying a wide range of dramatic skills. In July 1993, Lausevic's entered into a quarrel with a group of local youths, together with his brother. This escalated into a fist fight, culminating in Lausevic firing multiple rounds from his handgun, killing two of the youths and seriously wounding one. Sentenced by a Montenegrin (republic) court to prison initially, his conviction was overturned by the Yugoslav (appellate) court on the grounds that the first-instance court had improperly dismissed Lausevic's self-defense argument, and the punishment was drastically reduced. Lausevic served 4 years and 7 months in prison before his release. But Lausevic faced further legal battles. There were appeals by the Montenegrin prosecution, numerous retrials and inconsistent, ad hoc rulings by the Montenegrin court system. In 2001, the prison sentence was reinstated to 13 years by the Montenegrin courts. In the late 1990s, Lausevic left Yugoslavia for the United States. It is speculated that the move was made due to possible revenge by families of the deceased. Zarko Lausevic has been living in the United States since and is currently fighting deportation proceedings.