A team of experts has established that police officer Nenad Sipusic made omissions by not reporting to his superiors that Amir Mafalani told him, about 10 days before the assassination of journalist Ivo Pukanic, that a murder would be committed in downtown Zagreb, so he will be subjected to disciplinary proceedings, while an investigation will establish if he is also criminally responsible.
The team has also established that a report by Sipusic before the fact would not have helped to prevent the assassination, and that a report after the fact would not have resulted in a better investigation, assistant police director and crime police chief Vitomir Bijelic, who headed the team, told the press on Friday.
However, the team has established that Sipusic was responsible for oversights as he acted contrary to the laws on criminal procedure and the police, rules of procedure and instructions.
Bijelic said that Sipusic's statement during the 2008 murder investigation differed considerably from his statement this year when he testified against six men on trial for killing Pukanic and his business associate Niko Franjic.
In 2008, Sipusic said Mafalani told him that something big would happen in downtown Zagreb, while in court this year Sipusic said that Mafalani told him a murder would take place about 10 days before it was committed and that he suggested that Mafalani stay in touch with Robert Matanic, who Mafalani said was his source.
The 2008 case file does not show that Mafalani said a murder would be committed in Zagreb and Sipusic's only useful information during the investigation was that something big would happen, Bijelic said, adding that was not enough to take measures to prevent the murder.
Asked if the information Sipusic covered up in 2008 could have helped the police, Bijelic said the information Sipusic gave during the investigation and what he said during the trial could not have been of use to take action that could have prevented the murder.
Hypothetically, Sipusic's information during the trial could have helped, but it is very uncertain if it would have, said Bijelic.
Police Directorate spokesman Krunoslav Borovec said it was questionable if action against Matanic would have prevented the murder given that he did not commission it.
The police believe that Mafalani was supplying Sipusic with pieces of information so as to stand a better chance in case of a trial.
The Zagreb County Court on Wednesday sentenced six men accused of killing journalist Ivo Pukanic and his associate Niko Franjic to a total of 150 years' imprisonment.
Robert Matanic, charged with putting together a criminal group, was sentenced to 33 years in jail. His cousin Luka Matanic and their friend Amir Mafalani were each given 16 years.
Zeljko Milovanovic, who committed the murder by activating a device that blew up Pukanic, was sentenced in absence to 40 years in jail, while Bojan Guduric, who was to have shot Pukanic if the explosive misfired, was given 30 years. Slobodan Djurovic was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for being the killers' connection with Sreten Jocic, who allegedly paid EUR 1.5 million to have Pukanic killed. Jocic is on trial in this case in Belgrade, together with Milovanovic and Zoran Kuzmanovic.
