Serbia and Croatia grapple with life imprisonment and sentencing policies

In Serbia, the maximum penalty of life imprisonment was introduced in 2019 and has been applied in 18 cases to date. Victims have included women and girls, often close relatives of the perpetrators. Notable convictions include Ninoslav Jovanović, Dejan Dabović, Radomir Blagojević and others, some of whom have died in prison.

In Croatia, officials and legal experts are debating whether criminal penalties are too lenient. Recent data show three 50‑year sentences handed down in a year and a half, while prison overcrowding remains a serious issue, with over 1,000 inmates above capacity. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ordered reforms, and some politicians are calling for the introduction of life imprisonment to address the problem.