May 23, 2018
Milko Novič, who is serving a 25 year sentence for the murder of Janko Jamnik, a former Institute of Chemistry director, has filed a criminal complaint against the ballistics expert Franc Sablič, as Dnevnik reported on Monday, May 21. Sablič, whose testimony played a crucial role in the final conviction of the Institute’s former employee, Novič, is accused of lying about the institution he was representing at court, with regard to the National Forensic Laboratory having the accreditation needed to collect samples as well as carry out the gunshot residue (GRS) analysis during his testimony in 2015. According to Novič’ legal representative, Žiga Podobnik, the laboratory in question only received the accreditation to perform GSR analysis in 2017, while it has still not received accreditation to collect samples.
Meanwhile, a second murder trial is about to begin with the continuation of a pre-trial hearing at the beginning of June. Michel Stephan, another former Institute of Chemistry employee, is accused of plotting the murder of another of the Institute’s leading figures, Janez Plavec. The pre-trial was not completed earlier this month since Stephan refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, as he insisted that all the documents supporting the indictment should first be translated into French.
Stephan, a Lebanese-French chemist, is alleged to have tried to persuade an asylum seeker from Iraq (who the media initially reported to be of Iranian origin) who he met in a gym to kill Plavec in return for 25,000 EUR, and the opportunity to perhaps do some more “jobs” after that. Stephan believed the man, who had once served in the Iraqi police force, could handle firearms, while also needing money due to a sick child he was taking care of. The Iraqi man, however, reported Stephan to the local authorities, and the chemist was eventually arrested while taking the Iraqi to a forest near Ljubljana in order to test the gun that was to be used in the killing. The Iraqi man is currently in the witness protection program, waiting for the trial to begin.
Stephan was also one of the initial suspects in Janko Jamnik’s case, and refused to give a GSR sample. He was however removed from the suspect list after an unnamed female co-worker provided him with an alibi.
Despite some obvious similarities between both cases the prosecution insists that the murder of Janko Jamnik and the attempted murder of Janez Plavec are not related.
In case you wonder what this mess is all about, we reported on Janko Jamnik’s murder case at length in an article you can find here, and will continue to report on the trial of Michel Stephan once it commences.
