A Reporters Without Borders official on Monday expressed concern over the latest developments in the trial for the 1999 killing of Serbian newspaper publisher Slavko Curuvija.

The Appeals Court in Belgrade ruled to overturn the sentence and ordered a re-trial citing serious violations of procedure. Defendants Radomir Markovic (head of the State Security Service or RDB), RDB Belgrade Center chief Milan Radonjic and RDB agents Miroslav Kurak and Ratko Romic were sentenced to a total of 100 years in jail in 2019.

The inefficiency of the state in satisfying justice motivates the perpetrators of those crimes, Reporters Without Borders official in charge of its EU and Western Balkans department Pavol Szalai is quoted as saying in a written statement to the VOA.

Szalai said tat the Appeals Court ruling is a significant obstacle to freedom of the media in Serbia. It is deeply worrying that 21 years after the murder were not enough for Serbia to condemn the killers of the journalist and start the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists, he said and added that the overturning of the sentence exposes Serbian journalists, who are exposed to assaults regularly, to even more uncertainty.