An investigation on Pukanić murder closed

The final word in the investigation on Pukanić - Franjić murder should be ultimately pronounced by USKOK as the expectations arise

One-year-long investigation against the four suspects accused of a murder of the co-owner and a journalist of weekly magazine ''Nacional'' Ivo Pukanić and his associate Niko Franjić has been concluded at the Zagreb County court, while the entire file will be forwarded to USKOK most probably by the end of this week. A court porte-parole Krešimir Devčić affirmed on Monday that the investigation judge Erna Dražančić in the past 365 days carried out all of the investigation procedures and concluded an investigation.

Given the fact it was a secretly conducted investigation, he wouldn't discuss the details. He only said the in the past year - a great deal of witnesses has been interrogated, a numerous delineations have been carried out as well as the thorough car and apartment searches, numerous phone recordings check-outs as well as the numerous expertises. - He also added that by the end of october should expire the maximum pretrial detention date by which the suspects can be retained in custody without any previous indictement arisal.

Once they get the file, USKOK has to decide on whether to pursue with the indictement against Robert i Luka Matanić, Amir Mafalani, Slobodan Đurović, Željko Milovanović, who have been held in custody in Belgrade, as well as the fugitive Bojan Gudurić presently on the international warrant as well as the 100.000 kuna reward.

Besides aforementioned suspects, accused of the same crime are Milenko Kuzmanović and Sreten Jocić, a.k.a Joca Amsterdam. A separate court proceeding has been held against the two of them in Serbia. Jocić has been accused of ordering Pukanić's murder via his best man Slobodan Đurović.

Matanić nephews as well as Mafalani have been accused of being a part of the criminal organization responsible for months of victim tracing, of getting an explosive as well as the other weapons necessary for carrying out an assassination, while Milovanović and Gudurić have been accused of being a direct perpetrators of a murder.

Milovanović brought up a scooter carrying an explosive package right in the middle of the ''Nacional'' courtyard, while Gudurić monitored the whole area and remotely activated an explosive at the moment when Pukanić approached the scooter. Barristers believe that Matanić nephews as well as other accomplices were just perpetrators of Jocić's best man Đurović. They encashed a sum of 1,5 million of euro.

Aprehension of the group of suspects caught in a police raid called "Balkan express", was followed by one-year-long Zagreb investigation. The investigation has been classified as confidential, so the question of possible witnesses to the event as well as the set of the investigation procedures will therefore remain covert.

On the other hand, the media recently declared that USKOK possesses a crown witness to the case, more precisely the person who participated in the murder preparation, but who obtained a court settlement and agreed to wiitness against the other suspects in the court of law. Croatian as well as Serbian media are suspecting that the prosecution indictements have been founded exactly on the statement of this penitent witness.