Predrag Simonović: The Service that Kills Free Speech – 27 Years since the Murder of Ćuruvija

Whatever else I might say, I would spoil the essence. He was killed as an example. So that others can see what can happen to them. To achieve an effect. Fear. At the panel "The Legalistic End of Crime," with tears in her eyes, Jelena Ćuruvija addressed those present, it seemed to me to those who were there but also to those who should have been but were not, and said, “In various fields of life, I can measure my success. But when it comes to this matter, which is undoubtedly one of the most important in my life, I often feel that I have not moved an inch in the pursuit of justice and truth.”

As someone who worked on the Ćuruvija case, I do not want to admit that I feel we have not moved an inch in the pursuit of justice, and that the windmills still stand, perhaps just in a different color or draped in another skin. It seems to me that Slavko Ćuruvija was killed multiple times. They killed him slowly. That’s how revenge goes, I suppose. Just before the "Merciful Angel," amid the fight against the internal enemy, traitors, and others, the Law on Public Information was adopted. It was signed by the then Minister of Information.

Astronomical fines broke but could not silence free speech and truth. Then it was decided that this was not enough. That it needed to be harsher. 27 years ago, the state decided to take revenge. In the midst of the bombing, while the country was burning, a part of the State Security Sector had an important task. 27 members of the service followed Slavko Ćuruvija to his doorstep. A few minutes later, Ćuruvija was killed. From behind. 17 bullets were enough to silence the libertarian thought and to transfer a patriot, presented as a traitor, to eternity. For some, war; for others, brother.

Any similarity to the present is intentional. Someone very powerful decided that it should be on Easter. A major Christian holiday. To make the message clear. To show that the state decides on life and death. Likewise, we are witnesses that it can also grant pardons and forgiveness. Then the public learned about the "Ćuran" dossier. A document appeared that confirmed what everyone knew.

That the Service stands behind everything. No one has ever prosecuted the leadership of the State Security Sector because they did not allow the operatives of the Third Department to conduct interviews with the service members; instead, they conducted the investigation themselves and determined that no one was guilty. And "Sablja" went as it went. The truth was not reached.

For Dada. For Slavko. For Pantić from Jagodina. We, from the Working Group and the Commission for the Clarification of Journalists' Murders, have found part of the truth in our pursuit of the truth, but also lifelong enemies. I have the feeling that we have been cast adrift and that one of us is next. I think the atmosphere is the same as it was more than a quarter of a century ago and that heads can roll because of words. If that is what the state decides.

The first verdict brought 100 years in prison for the service members. Then the Appellate Court overturned the verdict, returned the case for retrial, and ordered that the facts be established. The Higher Court determined what the Appellate Court had ordered and again rendered a verdict: 100 years in prison. When we all thought that justice had finally found the right path, the Appellate Court issued an acquittal. However, it took more than 10 months for the verdict to be wrapped in a coat of nicety, to be a bit prettier, lighter... ready as an amnesty. Just when the state was granting pardons.

The Supreme Court established that the Appellate Court had not acted properly and had not taken all the evidence into account. By then, it was already irrelevant. No one is guilty. A journalist can be killed multiple times. Those who were acquitted were seen in the courtroom. Some for the first time. This time as aggrieved parties in a proceeding seeking damages for violation of honor and reputation.

The names changed. Department for the Protection of the People. Administration of State Security. Sector of State Security. And in the finest attire, BIA – the Security Information Agency. At one time, just before the acquittal was issued, BIA devised a nice slogan in a promotional spot for enrolling students in the Academy for National Security... “Everything changes, the service remains.” None of us in the Working Group have a permit to carry weapons. The ventriloquists from the Ministry of the Interior decided that it was best that way. I assert that the Working Group should have resolved much that remains unresolved, especially from "Sablja."

Dragana Kecman was being prepared for assassination several times. We provided facts to the authorities about everything. “Kecman needs to be taken care of” – so said a member of the service. In the Criminal Analytical Service, in some magical way, a report disappeared or was never delivered when the second assassination was planned. Nothing. Kecman never had security. Upon retirement, he received a pistol as a suitable gift, but he was not granted a permit to carry a weapon. You would be surprised to know who has a permit to carry a weapon.

Veran Matić had security that was revoked just around the time the Working Group obtained vital information regarding the murder of journalist Pantić from Jagodina. And now, for who knows how many times, we witness that a target is drawn on his back. Because that’s how they kill... from behind.

He was marked as a traitor and an enemy. For seeking the truth. Kecman and I signed a report, thereby signing our destinies. We informed the public that some big players were negotiating the release from prison of someone who knows a lot. And everything was done and very close to forgiveness. The reaction was swift. The next day, they took away our official car. It was probably needed by some secretary. Since then, we have not been rewarded even once. As a lesson. I did not receive a pistol for retirement. I do not have a permit to carry a weapon.

I am not suitable. When I asked a journalist friend, who is being persecuted and has them breathing down her neck, if she is afraid, she replied that they are better off dead than alive. At that moment, I felt ashamed and stopped being afraid. People often ask what kind of pressures the Working Group endured. For myself, I can say that the Appellate Court rendered a verdict and established that I was bullied by superiors from the SBPOK while I was working on the Ćuruvija case.

The superiors were promoted, but the Ministry of the Interior did not want to publish the verdict in the newspapers, despite it being final and enforceable. A few days ago, the Supreme Court dismissed the Ministry of the Interior's revision regarding bullying, just as it did with all verdicts from the judicial practice regarding bullying. And that is only part of what we fought against. A member of BIA gave me a friendly piece of advice.

To turn to the church. He also gave me three icons. For me, for my wife, and for Nadežda, who was five years old at the time. He knew my child's name. He intended the icon of the White Angel for her. The prosecutor says these are not threats. I asked how a member of the service should threaten. I also told the prosecutor that I know what and how the service operates. I did not receive an answer. In the meantime, I started writing for the newspapers. It liberates me. The service is still looking for who provides me with information.

I was advised that it would be better to walk along the frozen Danube and resolve my frustrations that way, rather than write. After 27 years, trapped, aware that crime can be forgiven but that everything passes, only the service remains. Will we, in our learned helplessness, wait for the next blow and speculate on who is next, believing that they are better off dead than alive? History repeats itself. The current Minister of Information sent a strong message to all enemies of the state: “The police can beat you and kill you.” Think about that...

Source: Pazovačke