The daughter of the murdered Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija on her 27-year struggle for justice.

In this interview for CPJ, Ćuruvija's daughter Jelena Ćuruvija discusses the current state of her fight for justice, the message her father's murder sends to Serbian journalists today, and her "legal acrobatics" in the pursuit of justice in Serbia and at the European level.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

If you were to talk to a young person about your father today, what would you want them to know about him as a journalist?

Jelena Ćuruvija: My daughter is now 11 years old, and I want to introduce her to her grandfather in some way. When I talk to her, I tell her that her grandfather was a very brave man who did his job with such passion, integrity, and dedication that he did not want to make any compromises. I think he was a rare person — there were not many like him then, and even fewer now. He was passionate about insisting on justice.

How much do you think the case of his murder has changed Serbia?

He was the last beacon of free journalism in Serbia, or even a pioneer, as his newspaper was the first private newspaper in the country and had the highest circulation in Serbia in a very short time. His murder sent a message that there can be no free journalism in Serbia, that there can be no free opinion and freedom of speech, and that people who insist on these will be punished. It was the beginning of the destruction of free journalism, and I can say that what is happening now in Serbia is actually a consequence of my father's murder.

Does that mean that Serbia would be a completely different country if your father were the editor-in-chief today?

If my father were alive, the image of Serbia would be truly different. He would be as vocal as he was then, and I am sure that the state of the media would not be this catastrophic. Had he not been murdered, I don't think Zoran Đinđić (the pro-European Prime Minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003) would have been killed, and perhaps other significant political assassinations would not have occurred either. Serbia would look completely different than it does today.

When you reflect on these 27 years, did you have hope that the case would be resolved? Did you believe that Serbia would reach a verdict?

At first, I did not, I must admit. For the first 13 years, absolutely nothing happened regarding the resolution of my father's murder. Then, surprisingly, at the beginning of President Aleksandar Vučić's administration, the government formed a special commission, and the people who were later suspected of my father's murder were arrested. This indicated that there was a political decision to resolve the murder, so I had faith. The first verdict was a guilty one, and I thought that things would end properly.

How did you feel when the final acquittal verdict was rendered? Did you expect it?

We received information about six months before we officially got the verdict that the decision would be acquittal, so I had time to prepare emotionally. But it was definitely a shock.

In an earlier interview, you referred to your current efforts as a "marathon." What can you do now to preserve his memory?

I have a foundation dedicated to his memory, and we strive for all young people in Serbia to learn who my father was. Additionally, we are working with the international community that deals with media freedom. And with certain legal acrobatics, we are now in the phase of exhausting all legal options to achieve justice here in Serbia before we take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

What do you think about the current threats faced by Serbian journalists today?

The impunity in my father's case has sent a clear message to journalists and citizens in Serbia that they may face serious consequences if they insist on expressing their views, and journalists if they insist on objective reporting. This type of targeting is more or less the reality for all journalists today who are trying to do their job properly. Nevertheless, I believe that there is now greater visibility, as well as more unity and solidarity among journalists than there was in the 1990s.

On a personal level, how have you endured this 27-year journey?

This journey has been very emotionally intense for me. But the good thing that has happened, if there is anything good in this case, is that I have built a whole community of people for whom this case is important for the same reasons it is important to me. Today, I am the same age my father was when he was murdered, and I say what he said: "We will win because we are beautiful and smart."

Source: CPJ