Janauary 8, 2026<\/p>\n
Acting on an extraordinary legal remedy, the Supreme Court partially upheld the request of the State Prosecutor\u2019s Office, finding that certain highly significant pieces of evidence in the acquittal judgment in the \u0106uruvija murder case had not been properly assessed.<\/p>\n
As stated by the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal put forward certain conclusions that were \u201centirely unclear\u201d or \u201ccontradictory\u201d and not in accordance with the testimony of some of the prosecution\u2019s key witnesses, nor with crucial material evidence, such as the analysis of mobile phone base station data relating to calls made by the defendants immediately before and after \u0106uruvija\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
We welcome the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, while noting that it cannot change the grim reality that, nearly 27 years on, those responsible for the murder of a journalist have not been held accountable.<\/p>\n
Slavko \u0106uruvija was killed by the state for speaking publicly. The absence of final justice is not only a tragedy for his family and for those who respected him as a journalist; it also sends a deeply disturbing message to journalists and to all those who continue to fight for the rule of law in a country that has lost its moral compass and where, even today, critics of those in power are persecuted and attacked in the most alarming ways.<\/p>\n
The \u0106uruvija murder case has produced three mutually contradictory judgments. The defendants were first convicted at first instance and sentenced to prison terms. The Court of Appeal then acquitted them in a final judgment. The Supreme Court has now established that this final judgment was made in violation of the law. We demand accountability from all those within the judicial system who contributed to this catastrophic failure of the justice system, without which this country has no future.<\/p>\n
The final judgment in the murder of Slavko \u0106uruvija, which acquitted former officials and members of the State Security Service Radomir Markovi\u0107, Milan Radonji\u0107, Ratko Romi\u0107, and Miroslav Kurak, was delivered by a panel of the Belgrade Court of Appeal composed of Nada Had\u017ei Peri\u0107, Vesna Petrovi\u0107, Dragan \u0106esarovi\u0107, Marko Joci\u0107 and Du\u0161anka \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107.
\nSlavko \u0106uruvija was killed on 11 April 1999, after members of the State Security Service had kept him under surveillance for days prior to the murder.<\/p>\n