BELGIAN COURT RULES: Hamidović to remain in life imprisonment, sentences for his associates unchanged

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Belgian Court of Cassation rejected the appeal against the life sentence filed by Sandro Hamidović, of Bosnian origin, who was convicted of the murder of Silvio Akino in 2015. In addition to Hamidović, Martino Trota, Nebojša Pavlović, and Dragiša Hamidović were also convicted at the time.

The other convicted individuals, along with Hamidović, also filed appeals. However, the decision of the highest judicial instance in Belgium states that there are no grounds for the verdicts to be amended or overturned.

As a reminder, Silvio Akino and his wife Silvija were intercepted in August 2015 after a Jaguar blocked their path. Four masked members of the notorious Hamidović clan from Bosnia and Herzegovina emerged from the Jaguar, and two of them wore insignia resembling police badges. They dragged Silvio and his wife out of the car.

The wife managed to escape, while her husband Silvio was killed with five bullets to the head and two to the stomach. One of the attackers, Samson Hudurović, who is Hamidović's stepson, was also killed in the confrontation. According to the indictment, the attackers intended to kidnap Silvio Akino to demand a ransom of 500,000 euros from the family. However, Silvio managed to grab a weapon from one of the attackers, after which Sandro Hamidović approached him and 'finished' him off with several bullets.

Sandro Hamidović was sentenced to life imprisonment, Martino Trota received 28 years, Dragiša Hamidović was sentenced to 22 years, and Nebojša Pavlović to 20 years. Among those convicted is also Boško Hamidović, who informed the attackers about Silvio Akino's movements.