Djurovic is the only accused for the Pukanic murder whose appeal the Supreme Court upheld in part, reducing his sentence, while the sentences for the other members of a criminal group were upheld.
Robert Matanic, who put the group together, was convicted to 35 years in prison; Zeljko Milovanovic was convicted to 40 years for activating the explosive device that killed Pukanic and his associate Niko Franjic in downtown Zagreb on 23 October 2008; Bojan Guduric, who was to have shot Pukanic had the explosive backfired, was convicted to 33 years.
The 16-year sentences given Luka Matanic and Amir Mafalani were upheld last July, when the Supreme Court raised by 15 years in total the sentences for Djurovic, Guduric and Robert Matanic.
The four accused sentenced to more than 20 years in jail used the possibility for lodging one more appeal and the Supreme Court ruled on them in mid-January. It upheld part of Djurovic's appeal and reduced his sentence for inciting to conspiracy to commit a crime but upheld the punishment for inciting to murder for gain.
Djurovic's attorneys are unhappy with the final sentence of 23 years, saying a series of omissions were made. One of them, Kresimir Vilajtovic, told Hina, "They are such gross omissions which set new standards under which anyone can be convicted for any crime."
In the appeal against the Supreme Court's ruling last July, Djurovic's attorneys complained about the harsher sentence and said the Court had violated the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Act as well as made errors of fact.
Although the existence of a criminal organisation was not proved at the first trial nor were the motive and the person who ordered the crime found, the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (USKOK) was satisfied with the harsher sentences handed down by the Supreme Court last July and did not appeal.
The Pukanic murder is the subject of another trial in Belgrade, where the accused are Jocic, Milovanovic and Milenko Kuzmanovic.