Milorad Ulemek, former commander of Serbia’s Special Operations Unit, and Branko Bercek, a member of the same unit, have filed requests for conditional release with the Higher Court in Belgrade. Both are serving sentences at Pozarevac prison, with Ulemek having completed 20 years and six months behind bars, and Bercek, 21 years and seven months, according to Politika.

Ulemek was convicted for high-profile crimes, including the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, the murder of Ivan Stambolic, the attempted murder of Vuk Draskovic, and multiple murders on the Ibarska Highway. Bercek was sentenced as an accomplice in Stambolic’s killing, a case solved in the 2003 „Saber“ operation following Djindjic’s assassination.

Their attorney, Aleksandar Kovacevic, noted that parole decisions consider only inmates’ behaviour during imprisonment, not the severity of their crimes. “This principle applies to all convicts, based on Serbian law,” Kovacevic stated, emphasizing that he cannot predict the Court’s decision.

Under the laws in effect during their sentencing, Ulemek was eligible to request parole after serving half of his 40-year sentence, as life imprisonment was only introduced in Serbia in 2019. By law, the penal code in place at the time of the offence governs parole eligibility, barring a new law more favourable to the defendant.