July 15, 2020
Speaking at a public session, Milenko Mandić, Deputy Prosecutor for Organised Crime, asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the first-instance verdict in the case of the murder of journalist and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija. During the presentation of the appeal against that verdict, the deputy prosecutor asked the court to open a hearing in this process and pass a final verdict.
The first-instance verdict, brought in April last year, sentenced former members of the State Security service – Rade Marković, Milan Radonjić, Ratko Romić and Miroslav Kurak – to a total of 100 years in prison.
That verdict named an uknown John Doe as the direct perpetrator of the murder, while the indictment charged Miroslav Kurak with that. During the hearing of the appeals, the prosecutor pointed out that this was a significant violation of the criminal procedure and that the verdict did not arise from the presented evidence, meaning it was therefore necessary to overturn the verdict and open a trial.
During a two-day session, the Court of Appeal also heard appeals of the defence teams of the four defendants, all of which requested that the verdict be changed to acquittals for their clients or that the proceedings be returned for a retrial.
