Radoslav Dragijevic Permanently Cleared in Danka Ilic Case

The Appellate Court in Nis has rejected an appeal filed by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Zajecar, making the discontinuation of proceedings against Radoslav Dragijevic final. The father of Dejan Dragijevic is now out of the criminal case brought over the death of two year old Danka Ilic from the area around Bor.

The second instance ruling upholds a decision by the Higher Court in Negotin dated June 1, 2026, which found there were no grounds for an indictment and discontinued the proceedings. The prosecution appealed that decision, and the appeal has now been rejected as unfounded.

Radoslav Dragijevic had been charged with failing to report a crime and its perpetrator, in conjunction with assisting a perpetrator after the commission of a crime. He was suspected of helping his son move the girl’s body to an unknown location.

Why was the case against Radoslav Dragijevic discontinued?

Because, in the assessment of both courts, the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence for that claim. The Higher Court in Negotin and the Appellate Court in Nis reached the same conclusion independently of each other, in two separate rulings.

The court’s spokesperson, Tamara Savic, explained the decision:

The Higher Court in Negotin decided that there were no grounds for an indictment and discontinued the criminal proceedings for the criminal offense of failing to report a crime and its perpetrator, in conjunction with assisting a perpetrator after the commission of a crime. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Zajecar filed an appeal against that decision, and the Appellate Court in Nis, acting on that appeal, decided to reject it as unfounded, finding that there were no grounds for an indictment and that the criminal proceedings are discontinued.

There is no further legal remedy against the discontinuation. As of today, Radoslav Dragijevic is no longer a party to this case.

What remains of the indictment

The trial continues against the two remaining defendants. Dejan Dragijevic and Srdjan Jankovic are charged with aggravated murder as co-perpetrators, and the Appellate Court in Nis had earlier confirmed that indictment. The prosecution has proposed life sentences for both.

According to the indictment, the two defendants struck the girl with a company vehicle belonging to the Vodovod public utility, where they were both employed, in Banjsko Polje near Bor on March 26, 2024, and put her in the car. The indictment states they dumped the body at a landfill and later moved it. It has not been found to this day.

Guilt is established at the main trial. Until a final verdict, both defendants are presumed innocent.

A case sent back and forth for two years

This case’s path through the courts has been unusually long for a single indictment:

• March 26, 2024: Danka Ilic disappears in Banjsko Polje near Bor
• April 7, 2024: Dalibor Dragijevic, Dejan Dragijevic’s brother, dies in the Bor Police Department while in custody
• The Appellate Court in Nis twice sends the ruling confirming the indictment back to the Higher Court in Zajecar, and the second time orders that the decision be made by an entirely new panel, that of the Higher Court in Negotin
• June 1, 2026: The Higher Court in Negotin confirms the indictment against the two defendants and discontinues the case against the third

The indictment itself was only filed after a supplementary investigation ordered by the Appellate Court. The part of the case concerning Radoslav Dragijevic was sent back separately from the charges against Dejan Dragijevic and Srdjan Jankovic, and it is precisely that part which has now been closed without charges.

The practical consequence is that the evidentiary proceedings will move forward without the assumption that a third person took part in moving the body. The girl’s body has not been found, so the aggravated murder charge rests on other evidence, which the court has yet to present at trial.