Nikola Mihailović (28) was sentenced to four years in prison the day before yesterday for a traffic accident in which four young people died on the Ibar road in August 2019, and the decision of the Belgrade High Court caused a storm in the public, who thinks the sentence is too lenient!
Relatives of the victims also wonder if a year in prison is enough for a young life extinct.
This hit them hard
– A drunken monster drank 12 beers and judged my son in a second! I ask you, how many people did you have to kill to receive a maximum of 12 years in prison, since you only received four years for four children? – Gordana Belušević, the mother of the late Đorđe (22), told Kurir.
photo: Nemanja Nikolić
– I’m broken! When a dog is killed, they give it six months and someone gives it four years in four lifetimes. I heard from other parents, we cry together. He was sedated at sentencing, unable to speak from shock. They took everything we had, this hit us hard. What are the verdicts, no wonder how many arrogant drivers there are – adds the crying mother.
As she says, the day before yesterday she cannot return to her senses, nor will she ever be able to.
– He will get out of jail, and where is my son, where did the murderer and the monster pack him? the unhappy woman sobbed.
Former prosecutor and lawyer
The appeal will show whether the verdict is adequate
Attorney and former Deputy Chief Prosecutor Sasa Nikolic says the court panel played a thankless role in determining the degree of guilt and determining the sentence, which is individual for each defendant and depends on the circumstances in which the accident occurred.
– On the one hand, it is a matter of lives and I fully understand the parents of the victims, on the other hand, the panel certainly evaluated all the material evidence, witness statements, findings of traffic experts, which many times trace the case. Certainly, this verdict will be subject to review by the Court of Appeals, and the examination of higher instances will show whether the sentence is adequate or not. People’s lives are the greatest wealth, especially the young, so any auction on that seems pointless and illusory, says Nikolić.
It should be recalled that the court determined that Mihailović committed a serious act against road safety, when driving in a state of intense alcoholism and at a speed of more than 117 per hour, although 50 were allowed on that section of the road, he collided with a ” dacia “, which joined Carretera lateral a Ibar. The panel determined that the driver of the “dacia”, Aleksandar Savatić (22), who also died, also contributed to the accident. According to the court’s decision, Svatić did not merge onto the main road safely. In addition to Savatić and Đorđe Belušević, Katarina Ivanković (20) and Đorđe Subotić (22) were also killed.
The prosecution complains
The prosecution will also appeal this decision to the Superior Court. – The Prosecutor’s Office will exercise its legal right in relation to the right to file a judicial appeal, that is, an appeal. We remind you that in terms of security measures, which are mandatory in these crimes, we request a greater measure than the prison sentence imposed the day before yesterday – said by Kurir Irena Bjelos, spokesperson for the Superior Prosecutor’s Office.
photo: Private Archive
Dissatisfied Family Representative The court awarded the BMW driver to death!
Biljana Borovcanin, who represented the family of victim Aleksandar Savatić, but also Katarina Ivanković and Đorđe Belušević, says the court’s decision is shameful.
– As a lawyer, there are no words, and as a man I am sad and disappointed! I don’t know what message is being sent, considering that four young lives were lost and three more young people were seriously injured, Kurir’s lawyer says:
– This sentence comes as a reward, because if the verdict remains like this, he will not spend more than a year in prison, if we take into account that his detention time and what will happen in house arrest until the final verdict is taken into account.
