Zemun clan goes on trial over killing of Serb PM

The biggest trial in Serbian history is due to open today when 15 suspects accused of assassinating the prime minister Zoran Djindjicappear at a special court in Belgrade.

Mr Djindjic, 50, Serbia's first democratic leader in more than 50 years, was killed instantly by a single sniper bullet to his heart as he left his car in front of government headquarters on 12 March.

The assassination marked a turning point for Serbia. It brought to a standstill the reforms undertaken after Slobodan Milosevic, the former leader, fell from power three years ago. Many view Mr Djindjic's assassination as a cruel remnant of Mr Milosevic's era.

Milorad Lukovic, also known as Legija, the man charged with masterminding the murder, headed the notorious Special Operations Unit (JSO) under Mr Milosevic. The unit has been blamed for numerous war crimes against non-Serbs in the wars that tore the former Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s. Lukovic is at large and will be tried in absentia, together with a dozen other suspects who managed to flee.

The accused will sit behind steel bars and bullet-proof glass, while the proceedings will be televised on closed circuit flat screens.

The charges against the 15 say that, under the auspices of Lukovic, they established an organised criminal group that conspired to remove from power Mr Djindjic and the rest of the post-Milosevic administration. The group, called Zemun Clan after a Belgrade neighbourhood, allegedly intended to restore to power the people close to the nationalist and pro-Milosevic policy. They acted under the pretext of the current administration being too co-operative with the war crimes tribunal based in The Hague.

Serbian society remains deeply divided on war crimes and atrocities committed by members of the former regime and paramilitaries against non-Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. For many, they were heroes who defended Serbs.

Mr Djindjic infuriated nationalists in 2001 by sending Mr Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal. He was also moving to neutralise the mafia-style gangs that he inherited from Mr Milosevic's era.

The case singles out Zvezdan Jovanovic, a former JSO member, as the man who killed Mr Djindjic. He was arrested only days after the murder. A Heckler and Koch firearm allegedly used by Mr Jovanovic was retrieved after the assassination of Mr Djindjic.

But many questions remain open in the case. A witness, Milan Veruovic, Mr Djindjic's bodyguard, disputed the findings of the investigation. He said two snipers were involved in the shooting.

Serbian media carried a story on bullet traces found within the government building that could not have been shot from the single position suggested by the investigation.

The police and state prosecutor have dismissed the claims. Milan Obradovic, the head of Belgrade's police department, said yesterday that there were "no doubts" about a single shooter. To add to the confusion, the public learnt only recently that a reconstruction of the assassination was never performed.

The trial opens five days before parliamentary elections. Critics of the government say the timing is intended to bolster sympathies for reform-oriented parties.