Defence attorney Rajko Mlinaric said that Djurovic, who allegedly served as a link between the assassins and Sreten Jocic, a Serbian businessman who is believed to have paid 1.5 million euros for the assassination, did not commit the crime with which he is charged.

"Following the principle of presumption of innocence, the court can only order an acquittal," Mlinaric said, adding that his client had not been in Zagreb when the assassination was carried out and that he therefore could not have been a part of the criminal organisation.

Mlinaric criticised the reporters covering the trial, saying they were increasingly writing about the criminal responsibility of the accused although the court had not delivered its judgement yet.

The trial will continue on Wednesday when the accused will speak about their attorneys' closing statements, after which Presiding Judge Ivana Krsul will announce a sentencing date.

Pukanic was killed together with his business associate, Niko Franjic, by a remote-controlled bomb attached to a scooter parked by Pukanic's car outside the Nacional building in central Zagreb on October 23, 2008. Franjic was a collateral victim.

After Monday's hearing, the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) expressed concern about pressure being exerted on reporters covering the Pukanic case, saying that attempts were being made to create the impression that the court would hand down its verdict under the influence of a media lynching campaign.

The HND said that ever since the assassination the police, the prosecution and the defence had been criticising the press from time to time for tendentious coverage and bias. It said that criticism had reached its peak now as the trial was nearing completion.

The HND demanded that such pressure stop and that the police investigate the threats against the reporters.