Serbia: justice acquits spies from the Milosevic era for the murder of a journalist
After 25 years of proceedings, Serbian justice acquitted, yesterday, Friday February 2, four former members of the secret services from the Milosevic era of the assassination of Slavko Curuvija, an opposition journalist, shot thirteen times in front of his home in Belgrade on April 11, 1999.
After 25 years of proceedings, Serbian justice acquitted, yesterday, Friday February 2, four former members of the secret services from the Milosevic era (our illustration photo) of the assassination of Slavko Curuvija, an opposition journalist. © Patrick Hertzog / AFP
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Founder of two opposition media, Slavko Curuvija was in 1999 a journalist targeted by the power of dictator
Slobodan Milosevic
, writes our correspondent in the Balkans,
Laurent Rouy
. During the Kosovo War, while
Serbia
was being bombed by
NATO
, Curuvija was murdered by thirteen bullets in front of his wife. A few days before his assassination, pro-government media had called the 49-year-old journalist a “
traitor
” and accused him of supporting the bombing campaign led by the Atlantic Alliance. At the time, murders of opponents were frequent and the secret services were immediately suspected.
Fifteen years before the opening of a first trial
After the fall of Milosevic in 2000, an investigation established the responsibility of four secret agents but it was necessary to wait fifteen years for the opening of a first trial. The legal saga ended on Friday February 2 with the acquittal of the four suspects, one of whom remains in prison where he is serving a forty-year sentence for murder, two were released after five years of imprisonment and a fourth , on the run, had never been arrested. Serbian journalists' associations are unanimous in denouncing the judges' decision, as are the OSCE and the United States.
“
A very clear signal
”
This is “
a sad day for journalism
”, reacted the American ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill on X (formerly Twitter). This decision “
is terribly disturbing for the family, friends, colleagues and admirers of this journalist killed because he publicly criticized the regime of Slobodan Milosevic
”, reacted on X the Slavko Curuvija fund. “
This is a very clear signal that the state is not capable of confronting the darker side of its secret services from the 1990s and that they still have enormous influence on Serbian justice and political life
” , added the fund. “
I am shocked by this scandalous verdict
,” the daughter of the killed journalist finally reacted to the N1 news site: “
It is proof that the dark forces of the 1990s still govern this country
.” In 2023, Serbia was 91st out of 180 in the
Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) ranking on press freedom.
Also read: Serbia: “The legislative elections were neither democratic nor fair”
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