The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (JAS) remind the public that tomorrow marks 27 years since the murder of Dnevni telegraf editor-in-chief and owner Slavko Ćuruvija, and invite colleagues, friends, and admirers to gather tomorrow, April 11, at 12 noon at 35 Svetogorska Street in Belgrade, where Slavko was killed, so that together with members of his family we may lay wreaths and light candles.
The murder of Slavko Ćuruvija is the only case of a journalist’s murder in Serbia that has received a judicial epilogue. However, due to serious failures in the investigation and proceedings, the perpetrators remain free, while no investigation was ever conducted into those who ordered the killing.
We remind the public that in February 2024, ten months after the decision had been made, the Belgrade Court of Appeal announced that it had overturned the first-instance verdict sentencing former State Security officers Radomir Marković, Milan Radonjić, Ratko Romić, and Miroslav Kurak to a total of 100 years in prison for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija, and acquitted them with final effect.
Court proceedings are also ongoing following the lawsuit filed by Radonjić, Romić, and Kurak against the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, because, as they claim, the Foundation damaged their honour and reputation by issuing a statement expressing dissatisfaction with the verdict.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the case of Slavko Ćuruvija’s murder contained substantial violations of criminal procedure provisions. Despite that ruling, unfortunately, the trial cannot be reopened.
The trial for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija began in 2015. The first-instance court issued the same verdict twice, sentencing the four defendants to a total of 100 years in prison. In its final ruling, the Court of Appeal acquitted them.
