March 31, 2021
Attorney Zora Dobričanin Nikodinović, the defence lawyer of two of those accused, once again failed to appear in court for the retrial in the case of the murder of journalist and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija, citing to the court that she is recovering from the consequences of COVID-19 infection. This resulted in only one of four envisaged hearings for March being held.
With this lawyer having failed to submit justification for her previous absence from court in February, then having requested that the trial only resume in May, Trial Chamber president Snežana Jovanović said that, if the lawyer fails to attend the next hearing, defendants Milan Radonjić and Ratko Romić will be assigned a defence counsel ex officio. Four former members of the State Security Service are accused of the 1999 murder.
The only hearing to be held in March saw a continuation of the presenting of objections to testimonies that were presented during the original trial, which concluded in 2019 after four years.
