[JURIST] The Serbian Supreme Court [official website] Tuesday upheld [Blic report] the 40 year prison sentence [JURIST report] of Milorad Ulemek [Wikipedia backgrounder], according to Belgrade media reports. Ulemek was a paramilitary commander under Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] who was convicted of murdering former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic [Guardian obituary] and attempting to murder former foreign minister and one time opposition leader Vuk Draskovic [official profile; Wikipedia profile]. Although the decision has not officially been reported by the court, sources speaking to Serbian media outlets said the court rejected the hitman's appeal that his previous trial was flawed, meaning that his conviction is now final. A court spokeswoman told AP that a decision had been made, but was not able to disclose what the decision was.

In May, Ulemek was separately convicted and sentenced to 40 years [JURIST report] for assisting in the assassination of former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic [BBC obituary; memorial website]. AP has more.