Today, the Special Court in Belgrade acquitted former members of the Special Operations Unit (JSO) of charges for organizing an armed rebellion in 2001.
The court made a unanimous decision acquitting former JSO commander Milorad Ulemek Legija, who did not attend the sentencing, former commander Zvezdan Jovanović, Veselin Lečić, Dragiša Radić, Vladimir Potić, Dragoslav Krsmanović and Mića Petraković.
The chairman of the court panel, Dragomir Gerasimović, said that the acquittal verdict was passed after a detailed review of the material evidence and witness statements, on the basis of which it was concluded that it was not a rebellion, but a protest.
"There is no evidence that they are guilty of armed rebellion," Gerasimović said.
He referred to the transcripts from the government session and the 61st and 62nd sessions of the National Security Council, which were chaired by Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, and the commissions that stated that the security of the state was not threatened and that the word protest was used, and not rebellion.
In support of his verdict, he said that the government did not declare a state of emergency and that the security services were not put on combat alert.
Gerasimović also said that the fact that Đindđić came to the unit's baptism with his underage son, and that the police minister awarded the commander of the JSO and other members of the unit, speaks of the absence of the head of state's statement.
He added that the safety of citizens was not at risk, as evidenced by the recorded video materials.
He stated that former members of the Surčina clan testified on the basis of circumstantial evidence during the proceedings.
He also said that the testimonies of Čedmir Jovanović and former minister Dušan Mihajlović contradicted the evidence and that they were "subsequent memories".
"If there was no armed rebellion, it speaks in favor of how the state of Turkey behaved in such a situation, there were no such reactions here," said the judge.
In the closing words, the prosecution for organized crime demanded that all the accused be sentenced to prison terms, while the defense proposed an acquittal because according to them there was no rebellion, but a protest.
According to the indictment of the prosecution, from November 9 to 17, 2001, the JSO refused to obey the command, withdrew its members to the center in Kula, cut off communications with the command, and repeatedly refused the requests of the head of the department, the minister of the interior and the then prime minister Đinđić to end the rebellion .
The operational part of the JSO with combat vehicles and armed personnel blocked the Novi Sad-Subotica highway on two occasions on November 10, and the highway through Belgrade near the Sava center on November 12.
In this way, as stated in the indictment, the readiness of the Unit to use violence was very clearly expressed if its ultimate demands for the dismissal of the then Minister of Police Dušan Mihajlović, Head of Department of the DB Goran Petrović and his deputy Zoran Mijatović were not accepted.
Such actions of the Unit directly threatened the security and constitutional order of the country, the indictment states, adding that the Red Berets intended to occupy the government building, the airport and the television building.
The JSO rebellion was marked as a prelude to the assassination of Prime Minister Đinđić, for which Milorad Ulemek and Zvezdan Jovanović are serving 40-year prison terms.
The JSO rebellion ended after Đinđić agreed to a compromise and dismissed the head of the DB department Goran Petrović and his deputy Zoran Mihajlović and appointed Andrija Savić and Milorad Bracanović, close to Ulemek, in their place.
The formal reason for the rebellion was the arrest of the Banović brothers, accused before the Hague Tribunal.
The court process began in 2012, and the parties in the proceedings have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The case against the accused Dušan Maričić was split, because it was determined by expert testimony that he could not attend the trial due to his poor health.
Bonus video:
