BELGRADE: The four ringleaders of Serbian fans convicted of killing a supporter of French club Toulouse ahead of a Europa League match in September 2009 were each sentenced to up to 35 years in prison on Tuesday.
The landmark verdict handed a total of 240 years to 14 Partizan Belgrade fans for beating up Brice Taton, who died in hospital 12 days after he was clubbed with bats, iron bars and flares before being thrown off a wall.
Two of them, Djordje Prelic and Dejan Puzigaca, are still on the run but were sentenced to 35 and 32 years respectively after being tried in absentia by the Belgrade Senior Court.
Ivan Grkovic and Ljubomir Markovic got 30 years each, four other fans were sentenced to 14 years each and another four got 12 years each.
Slobodan Ruzic, the lawyer of Taton’s parents who attended the nine-month long trial and the sentencing, said they were satisfied with the verdict.
“The parents maintain that the punishment fits the crime and we hope that any appeal will be rejected by the court,” Ruzic told reporters.
“It should never have come to this and the Serbian authorities are also responsible for not cracking down on football violence sooner,” he added.
Friends and relatives of the accused left the courtroom sobbing and police were deployed in large numbers after dozens of Partizan fans gathered in front of the building.
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