June 30, 2021
Four months after the issuing of a first-instance verdict against those accused of firebombing the house of journalist Milan Jovanović, which resulted in former Grocka mayor Dragoljub Simonović and his associates being sentenced to a total of 12 and a half years in prison, the case has finally reached the Court of Appeal.
At the same time, a trial has commenced against Igor Novaković, a third defendant in this case, which was separated from the first-instance procedure due to an attempt to obstruct on the part of the defence.
Meanwhile, the retrial for those accused of murdering journalist and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija has seen the court dismiss lots of additional evidence proposed by prosecutor Milenko Mandić and the defendants’ defence team, with the court mostly deeming this evidence superfluous.
Provided there are no new surprises in term of adjournments, which have plagued the retrial procedure, there is every chance that the main trial in this case will soon conclude, after a full six years, and shift to the presenting of closing arguments.
