Zoran Đinđić

Đinđić was repeatedly accused by opponents and some observers of maintaining tactical relationships with controversial businesspeople, members of the former security apparatus and underworld figures to stabilise the transition after Milošević. Some figures in the future plot against him had themselves benefited from connections with the new power structures.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Political responsibility

A few weeks before his death, a lorry driven by Dejan Milenković, a member of the Zemun clan, attempted to cause an accident involving Đinđić's convoy. The prime minister escaped the attack. The suspect was arrested and then quickly released, an incident that became emblematic of failings in the security apparatus.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist is the victim

Đinđić was assassinated by a sniper outside Serbian government headquarters. Investigations and trials established the involvement of members of the Zemun clan and former JSO, including Milorad Ulemek and the gunman Zvezdan Jovanović. The assassination triggered a state of emergency and Operation Sabre against organised crime.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist is the victim

The Serbian government led by Đinđić handed Slobodan Milošević over to the ICTY on 28 June 2001, although the Federal Constitutional Court had suspended the federal decree on cooperation and President Koštunica opposed the transfer. Đinđić cited international obligations and the urgency of cooperating with The Hague.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The JSO mutinied against the policy of cooperation with the ICTY, refused orders and blocked roads with armed vehicles. The Đinđić government negotiated an end to the crisis and accepted changes to the leadership of the security services, interpreted as a demonstration of the state's weakness in the face of the unit.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

As Milošević's regime fell, Đinđić and other opposition leaders negotiated with Milorad Ulemek and JSO officials to ensure that the unit would not fire on demonstrators and would remain on the sidelines. The understanding facilitated a relatively bloodless transition but left in place an armed organisation entangled with security services and criminal networks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the NATO bombing, Đinđić publicly stated that the crisis could not be resolved while Milošević remained in power and supported the presence of an international force in Kosovo. Threatened in a climate where opponents were branded traitors, he temporarily left Serbia for Montenegro.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Although an opponent of Milošević, Đinđić sometimes adopted hardline nationalist positions during the 1990s. Contemporary profiles particularly recalled a highly publicised visit to Radovan Karadžić and meetings with Željko Ražnatović 'Arkan', a paramilitary leader and organised-crime figure.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Đinđić was arrested in Ljubljana with other students after taking part in a meeting intended to organise non-communist student opposition and adopt a resolution criticising the crisis in Yugoslav society. He was sentenced to one year's suspended imprisonment or probation and subsequently released amid international pressure.

Attribution

Directly implicated