Zvezdan Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Звездан Јовановић; born 19 July 1965), also known as "Zmija" ("Snake") is a Serbian former paramilitary and Commander in the Serbian police's Special Operations Unit, sentenced to 40 years in prison for the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister

Zoran Đinđić Zoran Đinđić ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран Ђинђић, ; 1 August 1952 – 12 March 2003) was a Serbian politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997. Đinđić ...

in 2003.

Early life

Jovanović was born in the village of Breznica in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, in 1965. He had been a locksmith until joining the

Serbian Volunteer Guard The Serb Volunteer Guard ( sr, Српска добровољачка гарда, СДГ / ''Srpska dobrovoljačka garda'', SDG), also known as Arkan's Tigers (or only Tigers; sr, Арканови тигрови, links=no / ''arkanovi tigrovi'', ...

led by

Željko Ražnatović Željko Ražnatović (, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as Arkan (), was a Serbian mobster, politician, sports administrator, paramilitary commander and head of the Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard du ...

in 1991. Jovanović had been a member of the feared anti-terrorist unit

Red Berets The red beret is a military beret worn by many military, paramilitary, commando, and police forces and should not be confused with the maroon beret worn by airborne troops all around the world. Military police Red berets are worn by the military p ...

and held the police rank of lieutenant colonel. He also participated in the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

in the 1990s, particularly in operations in

. He was awarded the Medal of Bravery after the Yugoslav Wars ended for being a participant in all engagements for the Serbian Forces.

Assassination of Zoran Đinđić

Jovanović was arrested on the charges of being responsible for the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

Serbian Prime Minister The prime minister of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, премијерка Србије, premijerka Srbije; masculine gender, masculine: премијер/premijer), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, председ ...

in March 2003. He was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison. The evidence connected him to the infamous

Zemun Clan The Zemun Clan (Serbian Cyrillic: Земунски клан) is one of the Belgrade clans of the Serbian mafia. It is named for the gang's base in Zemun, a municipality of Belgrade. The peak of the clan's power and influence occurred between 1999 ...

of Serbia's organized crime network, and to its alleged leader,

Milorad Ulemek Milorad Ulemek ( sr, Милорад Улемек; born 15 March 1965), also known as Milorad Luković () and "Legija" (), is a Serbian former commander of the Serbian police special unit, the Special Operations Unit (JSO) and a former paramilitary ...

. He was silent during most of his trial but, allegedly, once confessed to the murder of Đinđić and said in a police report that he feels no remorse for killing him. Due to alleged interrogations, beatings and threats against his family, he claims to have been forced to falsely confess.BBC NEWS: "Djindjic 'sniper' remains silent"
bbc.co.uk; accessed 20 January 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Zvezdan 1965 births Living people Kosovo Serbs Serbian assassins Serbian gangsters Zemun Clan Assassins of heads of government Serbian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Serbia Military personnel from Peja 2003 murders in Europe