The Supreme Court toughened the punishment of abusers for the crime of murder to the detriment of women, contrary to the statements of Jutarnji List

 From the mentioned article published in Jutarnji List on June 6, 2024, readers might get the impression that judges do not punish murders committed by a close person at all, mostly in cases where a man kills his wife as a partner in a relationship. The mentioned impression created by this article is unfounded and this is confirmed by certain final judgments, of which we now single out only those in which the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia decided. For example:

In case number Kž-7/2019, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of the County Court in Zagreb, which sentenced the accused to 25 years in prison for the murder of his parents;

In case number Kž-71/2019, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of the County Court in Bjelovar, which imposed a sentence of 21 years in prison for the aggravated murder of his wife;

In case number Kž-2/2015, the Supreme Court imposed a single long-term prison sentence of 40 years for the murder of his wife, whom the defendant had previously abused out of jealousy, and several other people (the ex-wife's new partner);

In case No. Kž-263/2016, the Supreme Court revised and increased the first-instance court's sentence from 17 years to 18 years in prison for the aggravated murder of his wife;

In case number Kž-6/2023, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of the County Court in Split, which sentenced the defendant to 35 years in prison for the murder of a close person-wife, after long-term abuse;

In case number Kž-394/2017, the Supreme Court changed the first-instance verdict by increasing the original sentence from 10 years in prison to 15 years in prison, due to the murder of his mother whom he previously beat, intimidated and humiliated for several years;

In case number Kž-3/2022, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict of the County Court in Pula, which imposed a prison sentence of 25 years for the murder of his ex-wife, whom he had previously abused;

In case number Kž 3/2020, the Supreme Court imposed a prison sentence of 25 years for the murder of the wife, and it was established that the convict had previously been punished for a misdemeanour under the Act on Protection from Domestic Violence when he was sentenced to 30 days in prison;

In case number Kž-543/2020, the Supreme Court confirmed the 8-year prison sentence for the act of aggravated murder in an attempt - attempted murder of a mother. Hence, there was no murder here, it was "only" about the attempted murder of a close person, but the sentence of 8 years in prison was nevertheless pronounced for that attempt.

These are the data that we managed to obtain in a short time and they concern the work of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia. These data on the imposed sentences clearly show that the mentioned article wrongly suggests to the readers the conclusion that Croatian judges rarely impose heavier sentences for the murder of a woman or a close person. Therefore, we point out the media's responsibility in writing about such complex and sensitive topics. Such a way of writing misinforms the general public and undermines trust in the legal system because it indicates that there is disorder, where there is none, it disturbs potential victims but also encourages potential perpetrators, who get the wrong impression that there will be no punishment or that they will be lightly punished for such crimes, and thus makes the general prevention of imposed penalties more difficult.