The Higher Court in Belgrade has sentenced Vladimir Kecmanović to 14 years and six months in prison, while Miljana Kecmanović has been sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison. The first-instance verdict concerns the parents of the underage boy who committed a mass shooting at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in Belgrade on 3 May 2023.
The boy himself could not be tried because he was under the age of 14 at the time of the attack.
During school hours on 3 May 2023, the underage pupil killed nine students and the school security guard using his father’s handgun. He also wounded five students and a teacher.
Those killed were: Mara Anđelković, Bojana Asović, Angelina Aćimović, Ana Božović, Adriana Dukić, Ema Kobiljski, Katarina Martinović, Sofija Negić, Andrija Čikić and Dragan Vlahović.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade said it was satisfied with the verdict but will nevertheless appeal against it. Chief Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović stated that the convictions of both parents confirmed that the Prosecutor’s Office had successfully proven all the allegations contained in the indictment.
However, he added that only the maximum sentences requested by the prosecution would have been “lawful and just”. “Given the grave consequences of the defendants’ inadequate fulfilment of their parental responsibilities, for which, in the opinion of the prosecution, there can be no mitigating circumstances, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade will file an appeal regarding the length of the sentences imposed,” he said.
The prosecution had sought the maximum penalties for both Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanović, while the defence requested acquittals, arguing that there was no evidence they had committed the criminal offences with which they were charged.
Defence announces appeal
The Kecmanović family’s defence team has announced that it will appeal the verdict.
Defence lawyer Irina Borović argued that the Higher Court had failed to follow the objections raised by the Court of Appeal and had not corrected the deficiencies identified in the previous judgment. “Most importantly, it did not order a psychiatric assessment of the minor K.K., which would have been necessary in order to discuss the criminal liability of the parents,” she said.
She maintained that the proceedings had never established that the minor had suffered neglect as a result of his parents’ behaviour, noting that such a conclusion could only have been reached by court-appointed experts.
She also argued that the verdict failed to explain why the minor committed such a horrific massacre at the primary school.
Vladimir Kecmanović was charged with a serious offence against public safety and with neglect and abuse of a minor, while Miljana Kecmanović was charged with neglect and abuse of a minor.
Both the prosecution and the defence have the right to appeal the judgment before the Court of Appeal in Belgrade.
What do the lawyers for the victims’ families say?
Ognjen Božović, a lawyer representing the injured parties and victims’ families in the Ribnikar case, said the verdict was firmly grounded in facts, evidence and legal reasoning.
He believes that the Higher Court thoroughly explained the neglect of the minor K.K., the breaches of parental duties, as well as the failures relating to the storage of firearms and the child’s exposure to weapons.
Zora Dobričanin Nikodinović, another legal representative of the victims’ families, said the court had clearly demonstrated that many aspects of family life within the Kecmanović household were dysfunctional. “It was stated that the parents devoted themselves to his education, but not to his upbringing. They did not listen to him sufficiently, nor did they recognise his needs or act in accordance with them,” she said.
She added that the judge had explained that Vladimir Kecmanović had not stored his weapons properly, keeping them in portable cases intended for transporting firearms to shooting ranges.
(Radio Free Europe, 18.06.2026)
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/ribnikar-presuda-roditelji/33783689.html
