Olivera Ćirković

Olivera Ćirković
Оливера Ћирковић
Born
Olivera Vasić

(1969-09-03) 3 September 1969 (age 55)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
Occupation(s)basketball player, writer, painter
Criminal chargejewellery store robberies
Criminal penalty12 years in Greek prison
Criminal statusReleased after 6 years
Children1
Basketball career
Personal information
Listed height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
Playing career1986–2000
PositionPower forward / center
Career history
Voždovac
Crvena zvezda
–1992Jedinstvo Tuzla
1992–1998Pagrati
1998–1999Celje
1999–2000Crvena zvezda
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia
European Championship for Juniors
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Bulgaria U18 Team

Olivera "Olja" Ćirković (Serbian Cyrillic: Оливера Ћирковић; née Vasić Serbian Cyrillic: Васић; born 3 September 1969), is a Serbian writer and painter, former convicted criminal and former professional basketball player and administrator. She was a member of international jewel thief network Pink Panthers.[1]

Basketball career

Playing career

Ćirković spent her career with Voždovac, Crvena zvezda, Jedinstvo Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Pagrati Athens[2] (Greece) and Celje[3] (Slovenia).

National team career

Ćirković was a member of the Yugoslavia women's national under-18 basketball team that won the bronze medal at the 1988 European Championship for Junior Woman together with Nina Bjedov, Danira Nakić, Eleonora Wild, Danijela Ilić and others.[4] Over two tournament games, she averaged 1.5 points per game.[5]

Post-playing career

After retirement from playing career, Ćirković worked as a sports director for Crvena zvezda.[6]

Criminal career

Ćirković is the infamous female member of the international jewel thief network Pink Panthers. She was the mastermind behind a team of criminals raiding jewellery stores in Greece. She was convicted and arrested twice for her personal involvement in those crimes. The first arrest was in 2006.[7] In March 2012 she got caught again and was arrested a second time.[8] On 12 July 2012, she managed to successfully escape from the central prison of Athens.[9] She escaped on foot to her native country Serbia before gathering her criminal team again to plan & execute the next robbery - again in Athens on 26 November 2012. On 29 November 2012, she was arrested and convicted to a total of 32 years of prison in Corydallos penitentiary. In a later trial, her lawyer managed to convince the court to dismiss some of the charges and due to a general amnesty in 2017, she finally spent only 5 years in prison.[10]

Personal life

Ćirković has one son who also plays basketball.

Works

  • Ćirković, Olivera (2016). Pink Panter – Moja zatvorska ispovest. ISBN 978-86-521-2175-5.[11][12]
  • Ćirković, Olivera (2018). Ja, Pink Panter: Ispovest.[13]
  • Ćirković, Olivera (2019). Ja, Pink Panter 2 – Arhondisa
  • Ćirković, Olivera (2021). Ja, Pink Panter 3 - Povratak

References

  1. ^ "Oliverino bekstvo iz zatvora je ušlo u anale grčkog pravosuđa". kurir.rs. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Olivera Vasic PAGRATI ATHLETIC CLUB". fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Olivera Vasic ZKK CELJE". fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Yugoslavia U19 Women 1988". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 8 – Olivera Vasic". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Bivša šefica bande Pink Panther: Veliki igrač treba znati kad se povući". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Nisam ni sanjao da će Olivera ikada biti u kriminalnim vodama". blic.rs. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Δύο μέλη της διεθνούς συμμορίας ληστών "Ροζ Πάνθηρες" συνελήφθησαν στην Αθήνα". in.gr. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  9. ^ ""Pink Panther" Female Prisoner Vanishes into Thin Air". greekreporter.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Nastavak priče o najozloglašenijoj Pink Panterki na svetu (drugi deo) – Iza rešetaka, epizoda 8". Youtube.
  11. ^ "Pink Panter – Moja zatvorska ispovest Olivera Ćirković". laguna.rs. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Pink Panter – Moja zatvorska ispovest Olivera Ćirković" (PDF). delfi.rs. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. ^ "JA, PINK PANTER: ISPOVEST". delfi.rs. Retrieved 14 November 2018.