Statement of Michael DAVENPORT, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Serbia, on the arrest of suspects for the murder of Slavko Ćuruvija.
“We welcome the progress made in the investigation of the assassination of the prominent Serbian journalist and publisher Mr Slavko Ćuruvija who was killed in front of his home on Easter Day 1999.
The arrests of suspected perpetrators and organisers of this murder show that there is a clear effort in Serbia to solve hideous crimes committed by an undemocratic regime against its political opponents.
The European Union has continuously expressed its concern that unsolved murders of journalists in Serbia provide fertile ground for continuous violence against and intimidation of journalists, which threatens freedom of speech and journalistic professionalism.
We will be closely following the next steps and we hope to see those responsible for this terrible crime brought to justice.
We encourage the Serbian authorities and the Commission for investigation for murders of journalists to continue with the same determination their work to bring to justice those responsible for the murders of Dada Vujasinović and Milan Pantić.”
