Thirty-six suspected gangsters and elite police officers are going on trial in Belgrade today for the murder of Serbia's first pro-democratic prime minister in 50 years.
The sniper attack that killed Zoran Djindjic outside the government's headquarters in Belgrade on March 12th sparked the arrests of thousands of underworld figures and Milosevic-era paramilitaries believed to have been linked to the murder.
Months of investigations and a crackdown on organised crime - which shed light on some previously unresolved murders and abductions - led to major criminal charges against the 36.
Observers say the trial will be a test for Serbia's judiciary, which is undergoing reforms after years of communism and autocratic rule under former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.
According to the charges, the suspects allegedly formed a "criminal enterprise" that attempted to topple the pro-Western government. Authorities said the assassination was part of a plot to bring hardline supporters of Mr Milosevic to power. Charges include conspiracy against the state, terrorism and first-degree murder, as well as some lesser crimes.
If convicted, each defendant could face up to 40 years in prison.
Only 21 suspects have been arrested, however, with the rest to be tried in their absence. Among those still at large is the alleged mastermind of the assassination, Milorad Lukovic, or Legija, a former French Foreign Legion fighter who also commanded an elite Serb unit, the "Red Berets", during Milosevic's war campaigns in Bosnia and Croatia. He is believed to be hiding in Bosnia or Bulgaria.
Mr Djindjic's main opponents included nationalists angered by his decision in 2001 to hand over Milosevic to the United Nations war crimes court in The Netherlands, where he is on trial for his alleged role in the Balkan wars of the 1990s.