ADC-ICT Issues Statement on the Death of Dragoslav Ognjanović

The ADC-ICT has issued the following statement on the murder of Dragoslav Ognjanović:

The Association of Defence Counsel practising before the International Courts and Tribunals (ADC-ICT) is shocked and saddened to hear that Dragoslav Ognjanović, a former member of the ADC-ICT, was killed outside his home in Belgrade on 28 July 2018. His son was also injured during the incident.

Dragoslav Ognjanović was a member of the legal team for Slobodan Milošević at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and subsequently a lawyer in Belgrade, Serbia.

The ADC-ICT strongly condemns the killing and our sympathies are with his family and friends at this difficult time. This shocking tragedy is a reminder of the risks that lawyers have in seeking to uphold the rule of law. The murder of Dragoslav Ognjanović is the latest incident in a series of attacks against lawyers in Serbia, such incidents which target lawyers are an attack on the legal profession as a whole.

The Serbia and Belgrade bar associations announced they would stop working for one-week, the ADC-ICT supports their decision and strongly urges the authorities in Serbia to expeditiously find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.