28. 04. 2007

ATTACK ON JOURNALIST TERRORISM?

BELGRADE, 28 April 2007 (B92, Beta) - Evidence implies that the bomb attack on Dejan Anastasijević’s home was an act of terrorism, prosecutor says.
 
Belgrade District Prosecutor Gordana Čolić told B92 that her office had submitted a police report to the Belgrade District Prosecution.

The report contains details of the investigation into the explosion of a hand grenade planted under the bedroom window of weekly Vreme journalist Dejan Anastasijević’s apartment.

She said that the collected evidence and information imply that the incident, according to Criminal Law, constituted a criminal act of terrorism.
 
If the perpetrators were taken into custody, they might face a prison sentence of 3 to 15 years.

Anastasijević told B92 he could not be “completely satisfied” with the Prosecution’s assessment that labeled an alleged attempt on his life as an act of terrorism.

“I will be satisfied only when the perpetrators have been put behind bars and the background of the attack fully revealed,” he said.

Police declined to provide B92 with information regarding any advancement in the course of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the daily Blic has learned that police do not officially consider the attack to be an attempt on Anastasijević’s life, instead dubbing it an incident that “caused public danger.”

According to the daily, the Belgrade police third department that deals with homicide and attempted homicide investigations did not take on the case.

Instead, it went to the fifth department that specializes in dealing with arson and sabotage.

Following the explosion that took place on April 14, Belgrade police chief Milorad Veljović characterized the attack as attempted murder and an act of terrorism, pledging police’s full commitment to getting to the bottom of the case.