October 31, 2021
The presiding judge in the trial of Igor Novaković, one of those accused of setting fire to the house of journalist Milan Jovanović in December 2018, who is being tried separately, has scheduled closing arguments for 19th November.
The three other individuals accused in this case – Dragoljub Simonović, former president of the Belgrade municipality of Grocka and an official of the ruling SNS [Serbian Progressive Party], Vladimir Mihailović and Aleksandar Marinković – have already received initial sentences totalling 12 and a half years in prison. The Court of Appeal in Belgrade has already begun considering their appeals.
Novaković has been tried separately from the other members of the group since August, due to the judge’s suspicion that Novaković’s lawyer attempted to obstruct the procedure. After just three hearings, Judge Vukadin Brajušković rejected all motions filed by both the defence and the prosecutor, concluded the main trial and scheduled closing arguments.
