Former special police commander Milorad "Legija" Ulemek and his deputy Zvezdan Jovanovic were convicted of conspiring with fellow paramilitary and underworld figures to shoot Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Both men received the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Ten accomplices were given prison sentences, ranging between eight and 35 years. Five of the 12 have fled and were judged in absentia. Some also served as paramilitaries in the Bosnian, Croatian and Kosovan conflicts. All defendants present in court denied the charges
Judge Nata Mesarevic told the Belgrade special court, which has been trying what locals called "the trial of the century" that the men planned to first kill Djindjic, then other state officials, to create a climate of fear and help hardliners regain power.
STILL RECOVERING
Serbia is still recovering from the day when a bullet from Jovanovic’s rifle killed the prime minister as he got out of his car in Belgrade.
There has been an outpouring of national grief not seen since Yugoslavia ‘s Communist leader Josip Broz Tito died in 1980. Four years ago, church leaders tried to comfort up to half a million people attending the funeral of Serbia ‘s pro-Western prime minister.
His death threw the country into a state of emergency, crippling the pro-Western reform
program that he initiated. Srdja Popovic, a lawyer representing the Djindjic family, said it was not possible at the time to reveal the political motive behind the crime, because of international pressure to distance Vojislav Kostunica from the case. Kostunica is the conservative who succeeded Djindjic.
POLITICAL BACKGROUND
"The moment to solve the political background of the assassination was during the state of emergency," he said. "It was clear to the public that at one moment prime minister Kostunica had to answer some questions, and then, according to the Politika daily news and statements of one of the members of Kostunica’s party, foreign governments pressured the government at the time, not to involve Kostunica in the case and to put on trial the actual killers only."
He added that the alleged pressure happened "because the European Union was afraid that it could cause instability in the country."
Djindjic spearheaded President Slobadan Milosevic’s removal from power in 2000, a move current Prime Minister Kostunica opposed. Djindjic later handed Milosevic over to the U.N. tribunal to answer for his role in the wars during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Milosevic died of a heart attack in prison last year.
Although the trial was seen as a step towards more stability for Serbia, supporters of Djindjic described the sentences as too light. (Part of this BosNewsLife report also airs on Voice Of America (VOA). www.voanews.com Europe section).
