The murder of journalist Milan Pantić: The absence of justice is a message to the whole society

Journalist Milan Pantić was killed 22 years ago today, and the case did not receive a judicial epilogue.

He was killed in Jagodina on June 11, 2001, when he was returning from the store. He was intercepted at the entrance of the building where he lived and hit on the head with a metal rod.

Pantić was a correspondent for Večernje novosti, and he wrote about privatizations in Pomoravlje.

22 years have passed, and the murder of the correspondent of Večernje novosti has not received a judicial epilogue.

Read more To death with a loaf of bread

It was clear from the beginning that the motives for the murder were hidden in Pantić's journalistic texts about privatizations in Pomoravlje. Today we know that what he wrote and what he would write about the privatization of Cementara Novi Popovac in Paraćin cost him his life. It is believed that an organized criminal group, including some politicians, is behind the crime.

Judicially dead "Pantić case", after more than two decades from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Jagodina, it was sent for consideration to the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime, because it is believed that an organized criminal group is behind everything.

Read more The murder of journalist Milan Pantić: A symbol of the state's sloppiness and lack of political will

The president of the European Federation of Journalists, Maja Sever, told Cenzolovka that, apart from the suffering Pantić's family is going through, the fact that there is no verdict is a message to the whole society and all journalists - "you are not safe and the perpetrators will not be held accountable for the crime".

"What kind of message is sent to journalists and the public when the murder of one man, one journalist, has not been solved for more than 20 years?" In this way, it is only confirmed that the state does not have the strength or the political will to tackle the issue of security, freedom and the problem of the link between crime and the current government," said Maja Sever.

This year, the award "Milan Pantić for journalistic courage" will be presented to Dimitrije Mirković, a journalist from Gračanica.

BG/FoNet/RTS/Censorship

Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com