One Year in Prison for Aleksa's Death at a Birthday Party
The High Court in Nis sentenced Ognjen Petkovic to one year in prison over the death of Aleksa Stojmenovic after a brawl in Aleksinac. The charge was reduced and the verdict is not final.
- The High Court in Nis sentenced Ognjen Petkovic to one year in prison over the death of Aleksa Stojmenovic.
- Aleksa died after a blow to the neck and head area during a brawl at a birthday celebration.
- The charge was reduced from inflicting a fatal injury to participation in a brawl.
- The verdict is not final, and the family has the right to appeal to the Court of Appeals.
The High Court in Nis has handed down a verdict sentencing Ognjen Petkovic to one year in prison over the death of Aleksa Stojmenovic. The young man lost his life after a brawl at a birthday celebration in the Oaza restaurant in Aleksinac, on May 16, 2021.
The court reclassified the offense. Instead of inflicting a fatal injury, the defendant was found guilty of participation in a brawl. That difference in classification directly shaped the length of the sentence, which the victim’s family considers far below the gravity of the outcome.
Why is the sentence only one year?
The offense of participation in a brawl and the offense of inflicting a serious bodily injury resulting in death carry sharply different sentencing ranges. By reclassifying the charge, the court treated the defendant’s role in the conflict, rather than the consequence for the victim, as the central point of responsibility.
Aleksa died, according to the findings, after a blow to the neck and head area. The conflict erupted at a private celebration, in a room full of guests. A range of circumstances surrounding that night were weighed in proceedings that stretched over years.
What the verdict delivers:
- a guilty ruling against Ognjen Petkovic with a one year prison term
- a legal classification of the act as participation in a brawl, not a fatal injury
- the option to appeal to the Court of Appeals, since the ruling is not final
The verdict of the High Court in Nis is not final. The parties to the proceedings retain the right to appeal to the higher court, which means the sentence can be upheld, reduced, or increased.
How did the family receive the verdict?
The family of Aleksa Stojmenovic expressed deep dissatisfaction with the court’s decision. After years of waiting for a resolution, they experienced the outcome as a message that the weight of their loss was not reflected in the sentence.
The young man’s mother reacted briefly, but clearly, after the verdict was announced.
Is this even possible
Those few words capture the impression of a family that sat in the courtroom and heard a verdict well below their expectations. For them, these proceedings are not over until every legal remedy has been exhausted.
The Aleksinac case once again raises a question that returns to the Serbian public after every tragedy born out of a brawl. How should the law measure responsibility when the consequence of a single conflict is a human life?
