The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation must pay over one million dinars following the lawsuit filed by Radonjić, Romić, and Kurak.

Kurak, Romić, and Radonjić filed a lawsuit against the Foundation in 2024 due to a statement in which it expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the Appellate Court to acquit them of the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija on April 11, 1999.

After a lengthy nine-year court process and two first-instance verdicts in which Kurak, Romić, and Radonjić, along with former RDB chief Radomir Marković, were sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison, the Appellate Court rendered a verdict that acquitted them of guilt due to lack of evidence.

In its statement, “A country that does not punish murderers has no future,” in response to such a decision, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, according to the opinion of the Second Basic Court, violated the honor and reputation of the plaintiffs, thus being liable for non-material damages they suffered due to emotional distress. The verdict states that the statement was offensive, given that at the time of its publication, Radonjić, Romić, and Kurak had been definitively acquitted of murder charges. Therefore, the court set the amount of compensation at 200,000 dinars each, “finding that the awarded amounts would achieve fair satisfaction for the plaintiffs, and that the amounts are adequate for the incurred non-material damages,” the verdict notes.

In its ruling, the court did not consider any arguments from the Foundation, including the fact that the Supreme Court had determined in the meantime that the Appellate Court's verdict—which the disputed statement referred to—was rendered with significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure in favor of the defendants.

Considering that the amount of compensation is absolutely unusual for domestic judicial practice in similar or identical disputes, we believe that this verdict sends a clear message to us, the entire media community, and the citizens of Serbia.

The entire case regarding the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija and its outcome, as well as the verdict faced today by the Foundation established by the children of the murdered journalist, represent a continuous pressure and torment of the victims. The suppression of freedom of expression in the Ćuruvija case continues.

The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation will appeal the first-instance decision of the Second Basic Court. The proceedings before the Appellate Court will be yet another test for the direction in which Serbia intends to go and the will to break away from the dark past of the 1990s, which still haunts us today.

You can download the verdict of the Second Basic Court in Belgrade HERE.