BELGARDE 11.06.2020. – The Independent Journalists Association of Serbia expresses deep regret because the perpetrators and those who ordered the murder of journalist Milan Pantic are still at large and unknown to the public. IJAS calls on the competent authorities to make maximum efforts to resolve this case 19 years after the unfortunate event.
Colleague Milan Pantic was murdered on June 11, 2001 in Jagodina, at the entrance to the building where he lived as he was returning from the store.
The representatives of the Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists stated that despite the fact that the police investigation was completed three years ago no indictment was made.
The investigation showed that Pantic was murdered because of his journalistic work and investigative texts about corruption and crime.
According to members of Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists, the investigation that had been conducted all these years was full of omissions, important investigative actions were not performed properly and some were not even undertaken.
IJAS believes that the competent authorities are obliged to explain to the public why it took so long for the investigation to end and, especially, why three years later we are still waiting for an indictment. IJAS joins the Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists in requesting that the Special Prosecutor’s Office takes over the case of the murder of the journalist Milan Pantić.
We remind the public that the impunity of crimes against journalists has unforeseeable consequences for the safety of journalists, and also on the freedom of the media and public information of the citizens of Serbia.
IJAS, June 11, 2020