Serbia: Prime Minister’s Killers Get 30 Years

The Serbian Special Court of Serbia on Monday sentenced Miloš Simović and Sretko Kalinić to thirty years in prison for the 2003 murder of then Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić. Judge Velimir Lazović confirmed a previous ruling which was delivered in absentia.

According to the verdict, Simović allegedly stalked the former Prime Minister and reported his whereabouts to the leaders of the Zemun mafia clan while Kalinić circled the Government building in his car, providing an escape in case the designated assassin, Zvezdan Jovanović, failed to kill Đinđić in the building’s courtyard. Simović pled guilty at the re-trial and expressed remorse. He claimed several times that he knows who ordered Đinđić’s murder, but he refused to reveal any names. Kalinić denied involvement in the murder, and called on an additional witness to establish his innocence.

However, the Court found this testimony irrelevant. Kalinić’s attorney Slavko Petrić told the media that he will appeal the sentence Simović requested a new attorney, but the Court rejected his request. In a separate case against the Zemun gang, both Simović and Kalinić were sentenced to an additional 40 years in prison for a string of murders, kidnappings, and other criminal acts. The defendants are awaiting appeal for these charges.