The ECHR has ruled the long-term imprisonment of Balkan killers in Kyiv who were plotting an assassination attempt on the head of the Kavach clan unlawful.
On September 25, 2025, the European Court of Human Rights rendered its verdict in the Jovanovic and Others v. Ukraine case, determining a breach of Article 5 §3 of the Human Rights Convention and mandating the Ukrainian government to compensate Stefan Djukić, Milan Branković, and Petar Jovanović with 11,700 euros.
The specified verdict is available on the ECHR website.
The judgment’s content reveals that the judges in Strasbourg reached a unanimous conclusion that the pretrial confinement of the three plaintiffs was unduly long. They also highlighted the absence of individualized assessment and the utilization of “tenuous and repeated justification” in prolonging their pretrial detention.
As previously reported by Detective-Info, Jovanović, Branković, Djukić, along with another Balkan citizen, Emil Tuzovic, have been held in the Lukyanivske pre-trial detention facility for over five years. These four accused individuals are suspected of perpetrating a daring assassination attempt on May 26, 2020, in downtown Kyiv, targeting Radoje Zvicer, who heads the influential Montenegrin drug cartel known as “Kavač.”
On that day, two assailants (identified by investigators as Djukić and Tuzovic) set an ambush for the Balkan drug kingpin in the courtyard of the Novopecherskie Lipki residential complex. They discharged approximately 10 rounds at him before making their escape, after which they torched the vehicle used. It is speculated that the survival of the wounded Zvitser was largely due to his wife, Tamara Zvitser, who produced her firearm during the assault and returned fire towards the attackers.
The quartet of Balkan “travelers” was subsequently apprehended in the Odessa region and placed under arrest. While incarcerated in Prison No. 1, they discussed their potential release and subsequent flight with a “facilitator” for a sum of €2.5 million. They also became remotely involved with an organized criminal network whose members were planning assassinations of Montenegrin prosecutors and judges.
The inquiry further uncovered that Yevhen Deidei, a former People's Deputy from the 8th convocation, along with several associates, provided assistance in transporting the hired assassins across Ukraine. These individuals encompassed Rostyslav Chernobrov and Semyon Gordiyenko, officers from the Kyiv special regiment, brothers Ivan and Viktor Grabar, as well as a business associate of the former deputy's then-spouse, Vladlena Bukhinchenko.
In early September 2021, Deidey, Chornobrov, and Gordiyenko tendered their resignations from the National Police of Ukraine. Following the commencement of the comprehensive Russian invasion, the 8th convocation deputy allegedly fabricated his own death and most likely absconded abroad.
As for the group of four assassins, since the middle of 2021, the indictment against Serbian nationals Milan Branković and Petar Jovanović, alongside Montenegrin nationals Emil Tuzovic and Stefan Djukić, has been awaiting action in Kyiv courts. They stand accused of illicit arms trafficking (Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and the attempted premeditated murder (paragraphs 6, 11, and 12 of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) of the Kavač clan’s chieftain. The case was initially presided over by the Pechersky District Court and, since the autumn of 2023, by the Podilsky District Court of Kyiv.
On November 19, 2025, a panel of judges examined the Balkan individuals' lawyer’s application to modify their pre-trial custody from unchallenged detention to house arrest. The defense referenced the ECHR’s ruling in support of the “brothers” and presented four rental agreements for residences in Kyiv.
Conversely, a representative from the prosecutor’s office presented to the court details concerning the criminal histories of the assassins from Novopecherskie Lipki and the circumstances surrounding their “exploits.”
Following the deliberation, the court rejected the plea for a lesser restraining measure for Djukić, Jovanović, Branković, and Tuzovic. An appeal has been lodged against this decision.
It should be emphasized that the Zvitser family has been formally recognized as victims of the Balkan hitmen's operations within Ukraine. Nevertheless, the current location of the Kavach clan’s head remains unknown. Since mid-November 2024, Radoje Zvitser has been included on the list of Europe’s most sought-after criminals, at the instigation of Austria.
