The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) recalls that 25 years have passed since the murder of journalist Milan Pantić, a correspondent of Večernje novosti from Jagodina, who was killed in 2001 at the entrance to the building where he lived.
Pantić was killed at the age of 47, after reporting on criminal affairs and corporate corruption, particularly on the privatization of the Jagodina Brewery and the cement factory in Popovac, which is widely considered to have been the motive for his murder. Although a quarter of a century has passed since this crime, the public and Milan Pantić’s family still have no answer to the question of who ordered, organized and carried out his murder.
IJAS also recalls that, in 2021, Veran Matić, President of the Commission for Investigating Killings of Journalists, publicly stated that the names of the persons who carried out the murder were known and that the police had solved the case, but that proving it was difficult because the crime scene had been poorly processed and contaminated on the day of the murder.
Despite this, the case has still not received a judicial epilogue. For IJAS, it is unacceptable that, 25 years after the murder, those responsible have still not been prosecuted, while the institutions have failed to provide the public with clear answers about what has been done and why the investigation has not led to an indictment.
The murder of Milan Pantić is one of three unsolved murders of journalists in Serbia, along with the murders of Slavko Ćuruvija and Radislava Dada Vujasinović. Although the case of Slavko Ćuruvija’s murder went through court proceedings, no one was finally convicted for that crime, while in the case of Dada Vujasinović the statute of limitations has expired for the criminal offence of murder.
IJAS expresses serious concern that the murder of Milan Pantić could also remain without justice, given the course of the investigation so far and the absence of visible results. Such an outcome would represent yet another institutional defeat and further confirmation that Serbia lacks genuine will to solve the most serious crimes committed against journalists.
The murders of Milan Pantić, Slavko Ćuruvija and Dada Vujasinović remain a painful symbol of impunity, the erosion of the rule of law and the state’s unfulfilled promises to protect journalists and punish those who attacked them because of their work.
Impunity for crimes against journalists sends a dangerous message that attacks on journalists can be tolerated, forgotten and left without accountability. This directly threatens media freedom and discourages journalists from investigating crime, corruption and abuses of power.
The murder of Milan Pantić must not remain unresolved. The state has a duty to ensure an effective and thorough investigation, establish the responsibility of all those involved in this crime, and demonstrate that attacks on journalists cannot go unpunished.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia once again calls on the competent institutions to inform the public about what has been done in this case so far, why the investigation has not led to those responsible, and what concrete steps they will take to finally shed light on the murder of Milan Pantić.
The debt owed to Milan Pantić, his family, his colleagues and the public is truth and justice. Without solving the murders of journalists, there can be no safety for journalists, no trust in institutions and no free journalism.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Belgrade, 11 June 2026
