Zagreb/Belgrade - Nine people have been charged in Croatia and Serbia over the murder of an influential Croatian journalist, a year after the attack, authorities said Monday. Ivo Pukanic, an editor of the weekly Nacional, was killed in a car bomb explosion in downtown Zagreb on October 23, 2008, along with his marketing director.
Pukanic's murder shook the Croatian public, prompting police to arrest several suspects. On Monday, the Croatian bureau charged with fighting organized crime said on its website that six men had been charged.
In Belgrade, a well known mafia boss, Sreten Jocic was charged, along with two associates, for ordering and organizing the killings. Jocic allegedly paid 1.5 million (2.25 million dollars) euros for Pukanic's murder, prosecutors office said in a statement.
Pukanic was a controversial figure in Croatia and had links on both sides of the law. The Croatian Office for the Fight Against Organized Crime said he was murdered to prevent him from reporting on mafia-like activities in Croatia and neighboring countries.
