The trial chamber of the Zagreb District Court on Nov. 3 sentenced the six individuals charged with the murder of Nacional weekly co-owner Ivo Pukanic and his associate Niko Franjic, in downtown Zagreb on Oct. 23, 2008, to a total of 150 years in prison.

The first defendant, Robert Matanic, was sentenced to 33 years in prison for organizing the criminal group. The second and third defendant, Luka Matanic and Amir Mafalani, were sentenced to 16 years each for assisting in the act.

The fourth indictee, Zeljko Milovanovic, was sentenced in absentia to the maximum term of 40 years. He was the one who planted the explosive device near Pukanic's car and then detonated it.

The fifth indictee, Bojan Guduric, whose task was to shoot Pukanic if the explosive device failed, was sentenced to 30 years, and the sixth defendant, Slobodan Djurovic, who served as a liaison between those who ordered the murder and the perpetrators, was handed a 15-year sentence.

Elaborating the verdict, Judge Ivana Krsul said that the existence of a criminal organization, as stated in the indictment, has not been proven, as well as that those who had ordered the assassination and its motive remained unknown. She added that only Slobodan Djurovic, who was the liaison, knew who had ordered the murder.