Berlin, April 10, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists and partner organizations marked the 27th anniversary of the assassination of Serbian newspaper publisher and editor Slavko Ćuruvija on April 10 by condemning the complete impunity for those responsible for one of the most serious attacks on journalism in the country’s history.
Slavko Ćuruvija, a prominent critic of the Slobodan Milošević regime, was gunned down in central Belgrade on April 11, 1999, while under state security surveillance. The quest for justice remains a symbol of the wider breakdown of the rule of law in Serbia. Despite the 2019 conviction of four former intelligence officers, the Belgrade Court of Appeal overturned the verdicts in February 2024, acquitting all defendants. While the Supreme Court later ruled in October 2025 that the retrial involved “significant violations” of criminal procedure, including the unfounded dismissal of key testimony, no further appeals are possible under Serbian law, leaving the case permanently unresolved.
During a joint media freedom mission to Belgrade the organizations found that the current climate for the safety of journalists is so dire that the risk of a further escalation in violence — including the potential for another journalist to be killed — remains dangerously high.
Read the full joint statement here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2026-04-10T16:24:01+00:00) CPJ, partners condemn total impunity 27 years after murder of Serbian editor Slavko Ćuruvija. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/04/10/cpj-partners-condemn-total-impunity-27-years-after-murder-of-serbian-editor-slavko-curuvija/
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