Ratko Romić

Ratko Romić was an officer in Serbia’s State Security Service who became a defendant in two politically sensitive criminal cases. Both require a clear distinction between early trial outcomes and the final legal status: Romić was ultimately acquitted in the Budva case and in the Slavko Ćuruvija murder case.

Budva case

Romić was accused of participating in the collection and transfer of surveillance information used before the attempt on Vuk Drašković in Budva. An early first-instance judgment imposed a seven-year sentence, but the appellate court overturned it. The retrial ended in acquittal.

Ćuruvija proceedings

Romić was later prosecuted for the 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija. Earlier judgments imposed long prison terms, but the Belgrade Court of Appeal ultimately acquitted Romić and the other defendants in the final judgment published in 2024.

Why legal status matters

A site that only copied old headlines would incorrectly label Romić as serving seven or twenty years. The new the archive sentencing rule prevents that error by making final legal status a structured field.

Graph role

Romić should link to Radonjić, Marković, Kurak, the Budva event and the Ćuruvija case, while remaining outside the People rogue catalogue.