Simonović convicted of setting fire to Milan Jovanović’s house – Društvo

The judicial process, which began two years ago with applause in support of Dragoljub Simonovic, the former mayor of Grocka and journalist Milan Jovanovic, who was first accused of setting the house on fire, ended today with applause from the majority of the journalists who followed him. sentence.

By decision of the Second Court of First Instance in Belgrade, Simonović was sentenced in the first instance to four years and three months in prison for inciting a serious act against public security. The same punishment was imposed on the direct perpetrator of the crime, Aleksandar Marinković, while the accomplice in the incitement, former police officer Vladimir Mihailović, was sentenced to four years. The verdict against Igor Novakovic, accused of mediating between Mihailovic and Marinkovic, will be released later, as the judicial process against him was separated after his lawyer did not appear at a hearing.

Simonovic and most of the defense attorneys demonstratively left courtroom 1 of the Palace of Justice, at the time when Judge Slavko Zugic spoke about the obstacles he faced during the process.

– I went through a thorny road, said Judge Žugić, noting that the first defendant did not attend the first main trial and that in the next the defense lawyers told him that they were on vacation. In response to the defense attorney’s intrusions, Judge Zugic said: “Today, I am the only one speaking. Anyone who disagrees can leave the courtroom.”

– When the procedure came to an end, a series of obstacles began, and not only from a lawyer. My opinion is that you guys acted as a team, Zugic said, at which point Simonovic and most of the defense attorneys got up and left the courtroom. As he left, the majority of those present in the largest courtroom of the Palace of Justice, which was packed according to the criteria of the pandemic, applauded.

Judge Žugić also announced legal action against defense lawyers who claimed that he was trying by order of the President of the State, but also warned the aggrieved party Milan Jovanović due to his statements to the media that Simonović was protected.

“As you can see, he is not protected,” the judge said. After reading the verdict, Milan Jovanović pointed out that he never said that Judge Žugić protected Simonović, but that he alluded to a number of other criminal charges that he and his colleagues at the Zig Info portal filed against the former mayor of Grocka, which he said , are still sitting in the drawers.

– Thank you all for your support, said Jovanović to a large number of journalists who were waiting for him in front of the court building.

“Who knows in which direction this case would have gone if it had not been constantly in the center of their attention. I hope this verdict is a daily in favor of press freedom,” said Jovanovic, adding that he believes that the punishments are the suitable.

In explaining the verdict, Judge Zugic said that he did not take into account the mitigating circumstances during the sentencing, noting that the fact that the defendants admitted to having committed the crime in the investigation was devalued by his later claims that they gave those statements under duress. . As he stated, the recognition that is later revoked, in his opinion, is not an award that should be rewarded.

– They did not set fire to Milan Jovanović’s yacht or to the weekend house in Kosmaj. They jeopardized their human right to a home, Žugić stated, emphasizing that the total material damage was 4,148,556 dinars, which legally qualifies as large-scale material damage.

Acting Deputy Prosecutor Predrag Milovanović announced in a statement to the media that an appeal would be filed due to the amount of the sentence determined by the court. It should be recalled that the prosecution demanded a maximum prison sentence of eight years for Simonović.

– I am partly satisfied and partly not. This is a small victory for the institutions and we should wait for the final decision. A shameful and dishonorable act was punished, and I hope something like this never happens again, Milovanović said.

Let us remind you that the house where Milan Jovanović lives with his wife was set on fire on December 12, 2018. As determined by the verdict, Simonović encouraged Vladimir Mihailović to set fire to Milan Jovanović’s car in a restaurant during a family celebration to warn him . Mihailović, who was still working in the police at the time, incited Igor Novaković to commit this crime and hired Aleksandar Marinković. Marinkovic was brought to the scene by Bojana Cvetkovic Shijacki, who signed a plea agreement, agreeing to six months of house arrest.

As described, in the early morning of December 12, Marinovic smashed a window in the garage with a brick and threw a Molotov cocktail inside. The fire spread uncontrollably and soon spread to the house. Jovanovic and his wife managed to get out of the burning house.

When I want and can

The ruling was attended by the presidents of the two largest journalists’ associations, as well as Veran Matic, president of the Commission for Investigating the Murder of Journalists. After reading the verdict, Matic pointed out that the maximum that has been done at this time has been done and that he is the hero of the judge who managed to face all the obstacles in the process. Zeljko Bodrozic, president of the Independent Association of Serbian Journalists, expressed hope that the court will impose higher sentences in the second instance, while the president of the Association of Serbian Journalists, Vladimir Radomirovic, noted that the verdict shows that ” the state can protect journalists whenever it wants. “

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