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]

Olivera Ćirković
Оливера Ћирковић
Born
Olivera Vasić

(1969-09-03) 3 September 1969 (age 56)
Occupationsbasketball player, writer, painter
Criminal charge
jewellery store robberies
Criminal penalty
12 years in Greek prison
Criminal status
Released 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

Basketball career

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Playing career

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

National team career

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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

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

Criminal career

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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

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Ćirković has one son who also plays basketball.

Works

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  • 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

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  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. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  5. "Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 8 – Olivera Vasic". fiba.basketball. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. 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.
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