The Big Trial

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Later this month, 44 alleged gang members accused in the March 2003 assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic will go on trial. A special courtroom, complete with bulletproof glass to protect the witness stands, has been built for the dramatic proceedings. TIME's Andrew Purvis and Dejan Anastasijevic spoke to chief prosecutor Djordje Ostojic:

HOW STRONG IS YOUR CASE? The quality and quantity of evidence is unprecedented. During the state of emergency the criminals were rushing to the police with information to avoid police searching their homes. My biggest regret is that we were not able to pursue all the leads.

YOU WERE QUESTIONING SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. WERE YOU EVER INTERFERED WITH? There were politicians who tried to interfere, but only in public. Directly, no.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS TRIAL? It is more important than the elections; if we fail [it] could destabilize the country.

DOES IT MATTER THAT SOME OF THE TOP GANG LEADERS ARE AT LARGE? It's extremely important. If they were here and able to defend themselves we would have a much cleaner indictment.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY ARE? I hear but the intelligence is always old. Sometimes they are together. Sometimes not. They are clever.

ARE YOU CONVINCED THAT SERBIAN SECURITY SERVICES HAVE BEEN PURGED OF ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE KILLING? I want to believe that.