11. 04. 2011

Working group "to shed light" on journalist murder

Belgrade, April 11, 2011. (Tanjug, B92) - Public Prosecution spokesman Tomo Zorić says a working group has been formed to analyze the case of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija.

Public Prosecution spokesman Tomo Zorić says a working group has been formed to analyze the case of the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija.

The working group should "see what measures and actions should be taken in order to discover not only the perpetrators of the murder but also the organizers and those who gave orders".

"The working group comprises representatives of various relevant state institutions that can shed light on this issue," Zorić told the Belgrade-based B92, adding that the working group had been formed several months before and that the prosecution was clearly committed to clarifying Ćuruvija's murder case.

Slavko Ćuruvija was killed on Easter, Sunday, April 11, 1999 in front of the building where he lived in downtown Belgrade.

Speaking about the latest activities regarding the case, Zorić said that the pre-trial hearings had so far included about 100 witnesses, among whom members, senior officers and officials of the then State Security Service and Interior Ministry.

"Certain fugitive members of the Zemun Clan had been out of reach of judicial authorities, and later, when they were arrested, they were also questioned. The hearings included Aleksandar Simović, Miloš Simović and Sretko Kalinić," Zorić said.

Asked whether it is possible that the statements of all of them have not led to any significant progress, Zorić said that they had led to a progress in the sense that there were indications of who could be the perpetrator of the horrible crime.