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The funeral of journalist Slavko Curuvija, critic of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, on April 14, 1999 in Belgrade. REUTERS // File Photo

He was murdered 20 years ago during the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia. The trial of the murderers of journalist Slavko Curuvija ended with the conviction, this Friday, April 5 in Belgrade, of four suspects to a total of 100 years in prison (2x20 years and 2x30 years).

With our correspondent in Belgrade, Laurent Rouy

For Jelena Curuvija, the journalist's daughter murdered 20 years ago, the verdict shows that the state, then headed by Slobodan Milosevic, had ordered the murder of his father. Slavko Curuvija was executed in broad daylight in the center of Belgrade with four bullets in the back.

The convicts are all former members of the secret service. There is Rade Markovic, former head of state security, who has already been sentenced to 40 years in prison for other political killings, Milan Radonjic, the head of the Belgrade branch of the service, and one of the executors, Ratko Romic. The second shooter, Miroslav Kurak, is on the run.

The three present denied their involvement in the murder. For Rade Markovic, the trial served only to stigmatize the Milosevic regime. But for media organizations, judgment is important for the justice system.

Long politicized, stifled, the case Curuvija took 20 years to find his epilogue, but it is still unclear who gave the order to execute the journalist.

► To (read): Headlines: muzzled press in Serbia, Vučić and Milošević, same fight?