This article was by Veran Matic, an IPI World Press Freedom Hero and member of the Serbia’s Permanent Working Group for Safety of Journalists. У наставку прочитајте на српском

 

The upcoming December could bring the long-awaited decision of the Court of Appeal and the end of the drama that has lasted almost a quarter of a century.

Last December brought us the first-instance verdict and instilled hope that justice in the case of the murder of journalist, editor and media owner Slavko Ćuruvija is slow but achievable.

Exactly twelve months later – from December 5 to 9, a public hearing will be held regarding the appeals against the first-instance verdict for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija, which sentenced the instigators and perpetrators of this crime to a total of 100 years in prison.

It is possible that before the final verdict is passed, and after the public session is over, the five-member panel will make a decision to open the trial. Passing a final verdict would mean the end of the court process that lasts eight years, that is, 23 years after the murder.

The members of the panel are Nada Hadži Perić, president, Vesna Petrović, judge reporter and members of judges Dragan Ćesarević, Marko Jocić and Dušanka Đorđević.

The non-final verdict was passed to the convicted head of the Department of State Security, Radomir Marković, who’s serving a prison sentence for other crimes, while State Security officers Milan Radonjić and Ratko Romić are under house arrest with electronic surveillance, while Miroslav Kurak is on the run.

There is great interest in this trial from the domestic and international public, and observers and experts from numerous international journalistic associations and organizations dealing with the punishment of crimes against journalists are expected, as well as representatives of the OSCE, the European Commission, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other reputable and influential international institutions and non-governmental organizations, precisely because it is a unique case of solving a murder after fifteen years. (Statistics show that it is common for 90 percent of journalist murder cases to remain unresolved).

In 2013, the Government of the Republic of Serbia established the Commission for investigating murders of journalists at the suggestion of journalist associations with the aim of elucidating all the facts that led to the unsuccessful investigations into the death of journalist Dada Vujasinović and the murders of journalists and editors Slavko Ćuruvija and Milan Pantić. In the course of 2014, an indictment was brought for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija, for which there are realistic expectations that it will receive a final judicial conclusion by the end of this year. The super-expertise of the forensic institute in the Netherlands showed that there is not enough preserved evidence to help progress in the investigation into the cause of Dada Vujasinović’s death. The case of the murder of journalist Milan Pantić is still open.

The authorities of Serbia have been under strong criticism for many years due to inaction and impunity, so the Commission for investigating murders of journalists was praised when it was founded as unique in the world. After the first important developments in this area, there were numerous serious obstructions by those who wanted to protect the accused at all costs, which would be especially pronounced in cases of cover-up of illegal actions by former state security officials.

There are realistic expectations that the end of this year will bring confirmation of the criminal responsibility of non-finally convicted persons who have already been judged twice. Any other outcome would cause incalculable damage to journalism, the safety of journalists, but also to the state of Serbia, which has shown its determination to finally resolve these cases and to have the sentences handed down in accordance with the prosecution’s proposal.

Serbian journalist and IPI World Press Freedom Hero Veran Matić, chair of Serbia’s Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists. Photo: B92

 

 

Piše: Veran Matić

Prošli decembar doneo nam je prvostepenu presudu i ulio nadu da je pravda u slučaju ubistva novinara, urednika i vlasnika medija Slavka Ćuruvije spora ali dostižna.

Tačno 12 meseci kasnije – od 5. do 9. decembra, održaće se javna sednica povodom žalbi na prvostepenu presudu za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije kojom su na ukupno 100 godina zatvora nepravosnažno osuđeni podstrekači i izvršioci ovog zločina.

Moguće je da će pre donošenja pravosnažne presude, a po okončanoj javnoj sednici, petočlano veće doneti odluku da otvori pretres. Donošenje pravosnažne presude bi značilo završetak sudskog procesa koji traje osam godina, odnosno 23 godine posle izvršenog ubistva.

Članovi veća su Nada Hadži Perić, predsednica, Vesna Petrović, sudija izvestilac i članovi sudije Dragan Ćesarević, Marko Jocić i Dušanka Đorđević.

Nepravosnažno osuđeni čelnik Resora državne bezbednosti Radomir Marković na izdržavanju je zatvorske kazne za druga dela, dok su službenici RDB-a Milan Radonjić i Ratko Romić u pritvoru kod kuće sa elektronskim nadzorom, dok je Miroslav Kurak u bekstvu.

Za ovo suđenje postoji velika zainteresovanost domaće ali i međunarodne javnosti i očekuju se posmatrači i eksperti iz brojnih međunarodnih novinarskih udruženja i organizacija koje se bave nakažnjivošću zločina protiv novinara, kao i predstavnici OEBS-a, Evropske komisije, Ujedinjenih nacija, Saveta Evrope i drugih uglednih i uticajnih međunarodnih institucija i nevladnih organizacija, upravo zbog toga što je jedinstven slučaj rešavanja ubistva posle petnaest godina. (Statistika govori o tome da je uobičajeno da 90 odsto slučajeva ubistava novinara ostane nerešeno).

Vlada Republike Srbije je na predlog novinarskih udruženja osnovala 2013. godine Komisiju za istraživanje ubistava novinara sa ciljem da se rasvetle sve činjenice zbog kojih nije bilo uspeha u istragama smrti novinarke Dade Vujasinović i ubistava novinara i urednika Slavka Ćuruvije i Milana Pantića. Tokom 2014. godine podignuta je optužnica za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije, za koju postoje realna očekivanja da će do kraja ove godine dobiti pravosnažan sudski epilog. Superveštačenje forenzičkog instituta u Holandiji pokazalo je da nema dovoljno sačuvanih dokaza koji bi pomogli napredak u istrazi uzroka smrti Dade Vujasinović. Slučaj ubistva novinara Milana Pantića je još uvek otvoren.

Vlasti Srbije su dugo godina bile pod snažnom kritikom zbog nečinjenja i nekažnjivosti, pa je Komisija za istraživanje ubistava novinara bila hvaljena kada je osnovana kao jedinstvena u svetu. Posle prvih bitnih pomaka u ovoj oblasti, nastupile su brojne ozbiljne opstrukcije od strane onih koji su po svaku cenu želeli da zaštite optužene, što je bi bilo posebno izraženo u slučajevima prikrivanja nezakonitih radnji od strane službenika nekadašnje državne bezbednosti.

Realna su očekivanja da kraj ove godine donese potvrdu krivične odgovornosti nepravosnažno osuđenih kojima je već dva puta presuđivano. Svaki drugi ishod naneo bi nesagledivu štetu novinarstvu, bezbednosti novinara ali i državi Srbiji, koja je pokazala rešenost da se ovi slučajevi konačno reše i da presuđene kazne budu u skladu sa predlogom tužilaštva.

 

  • This article was written by Veran Matic and is being republished by IPI

 

This article is published by IPI is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States, Candidate Countries, and Ukraine. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.