Serbia Sentences Two for Car Bombing of Croat Journalist

A Belgrade court on Wednesday jailed two men for the mafia-style murder of high-profile Croatian journalist Ivo Pukanic.

Pukanic, the editor-in-chief of Croatian political weekly Nacional, and his marketing director Niko Franjic were killed by a car bomb in Zagreb in 2008.

Zeljko Milovanovic was given a 40-year prison term for his role in the murder in the neighboring Croatia, Serbian media reported Wednesday.

Milovanovic was convicted in absentia for the same crime by a Croatian court in 2010, along with five other men.

Another defendant, Milenko Kuzmanovic was jailed on Wednesday for five years for helping those involved in the murder, the court ruled.

Known for his in-depth reporting on organized crime, Pukanic was a controversial figure who had close ties to high-ranking Croatian politicians and leading criminal figures.

But the Belgrade court was unable to determine who commissioned the assassination.

Wealthy Serbian businessman Sreten Jocic, who had been blamed for planning the attack, was acquitted due to lack of evidence, the B92 television channel reported.

Prosecutors claimed Jocic was paid at least 1.5 million euros (two million dollars) for organizing Pukanic's killing by a "so far unidentified person" who had ordered it.

The prosecutor said he would lodge an appeal.