A Serbian appeals court Friday freed four former intelligence officers who were imprisoned for the 1999 killing of journalist Slavko Curuvija.
The four former secret police officers were convicted in 2021 and handed multidecade prison terms.
The former secret police chief Radomir Markovic and the head of Belgrade's intelligence branch Milan Radonjic were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. Two others, Miroslav Kurak and Ratko Romic, were handed 20-year sentences.
In a statement, the Court of Appeals said Friday, "In the absence of direct and indirect evidence that would reliably confirm that the defendants Markovic, Radonjic, Kurak and Romic [are] the perpetrators of this criminal act, [it] finds that the allegations of the accusation have not been proven beyond a doubt."
Curuvija, who founded the first privately owned media outlet in Serbia, was shot multiple times outside his Belgrade home, just days after pro-government media outlets accused him of being a "traitor" and of calling on NATO to bomb Serbia.
The attack at the time was described as a professional hit.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told VOA it is "disheartening to see that justice and accountability for the killers of Slavko Curuvija remain elusive."
The spokesperson added, "We affirm our commitment to ending impunity for crimes against journalists, and we call on the global community to unite in holding accountable those who direct and perpetrate violence, harassment, and intimidation against media workers."
Media advocates and colleagues of Curuvija also criticized the court decision.
Veran Matic, president of the Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists, told VOA in a written statement that the ruling "is a very sad day when it comes to impunity for murders of journalists in Serbia, Europe and the world."
The commission was set up in 2012 by government officials and journalists to investigate attacks on the country’s media.
"The messages of this verdict are clear: those who threaten the safety of journalists and kill journalists can still count on the fact that there is almost no chance of being convicted. That message is particularly dramatic today when we see the dramatic situation in which journalists in Serbia and around the world find themselves," Matic said.
International watchdogs also condemned the verdict.
Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, said it was “devastated” by the acquittal.
"The appeal verdict represents a hard blow to the fight against impunity for crimes on journalists in the Balkans," said Pavol Szalai. "Our thoughts go out to the journalist’s family and colleagues in the region who risk feeling a chilling effect on their work. RSF will continue fighting until justice is served in this emblematic case for press freedom in Serbia and beyond."
Gulnoza Said of the Committee to Protect Journalists also described the acquittal as a "huge blow to justice and to all those who worked tirelessly for decades on ending impunity in the killing."
In an email to VOA, she said the court ruling sends a worrying message to "the already throttled media community in Serbia that journalist killings go unpunished. We call on the Serbian authorities to ensure that all those involved in the murder of Curuvija are held to justice."
Journalists in Serbia have long been at risk of assault or threats.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who served as information minister during a press crackdown under former President Slobodan Milosevic, regularly berates reporters during his near-daily public addresses, the AFP reports.
Some information is from the Agence France-Presse.
