Killers of Serbian Pm Zoran Djindjic Given 40 Years in Jail

The former commander of a notorious paramilitary unit was today convicted of assassinating Serbia's first democratically elected prime minister, Zoran Djindjic.

A Serbian court said Milorad "Legija" Ulemek, who once headed the Red Berets, a special unit of Serbia's secret police, and his deputy, Zvezdan Jovanovic, conspired with 10 other paramilitary and underworld figures in the shooting of Djindjic in 2003 in Belgrade.

Ulemek and Jovanovic each received the maximum sentence of 40 years. "It was all prepared by Ulemek. Jovanovic fired the shots," said the judge, Nata Mesarevic.

Most of the 12 accused in the murder conspiracy were members of the Zemun mafia gang. Many had fought in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo as paramilitaries backed by Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav leader who died last year while on trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity.

As a pro-western prime minister, Djindjic reformed the Serbian economy and strongly favoured cooperation with UN trials of alleged Serbian war criminals. Djindjic earned the enmity of hardliners when he ordered Milosevic's arrest and extradition to The Hague.

A former philosophy teacher, Djindjic led the popular demonstrations in October 2000 that toppled Milosevic, and became prime minister in January 2001.

The indictment said the defendants killed Djindjic to bring hardliners back to power, to avoid being sent to The Hague, and because they feared a crackdown on organized crime.

Djindjic was gunned down in the stairway of the main Serbian government building on March 12 2003. He was hit in the chest and died one hour later.