BELGRADE — Serbian authorities have arrested the head of the country's criminal police directorate, Marko Kricak, on suspicion of abuse of office, Belgrade's chief prosecutor said on Sunday, in a case that has nothing to do with last week's election result, according to the prosecutor's office. Kricak, 42, was arrested on Sunday along with Bosko Sekulovic, the police commander in charge of fighting organised crime, prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic said.
Source: AFP, Nov 1
Stefanovic said the two were suspected of abusing their offices and failing to uphold their duties, “thus causing prejudice and serious harm to the rights of Belgrade's former police chief”, Veselin Milic. Prosecutors ordered a 48-hour detention of Kricak, the Associated Press reported, and another senior officer was detained along with him. Serbian reporting by the Radar portal and the Tanjug news agency, carried by Danas, N1 and RTS, said the arrests were made on Sunday morning on an order from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, and that the operation was carried out by the Service for the Fight Against Corruption.
Source: AP, Nov 1
A murder probe, and a complaint from the man it arrested
The allegations surfaced in an investigation into the murder of a suspected criminal underworld figure, Aleksandar Nesovic, in a Belgrade restaurant in the Senjak neighbourhood in May. Milic was arrested days after the murder for failing to report the crime and helping the perpetrator, AFP reported, and while in custody he began legal action against Kricak and Sekulovic, accusing them of giving prosecutors incomplete and false evidence. Serbian outlets reported that Milic's lawyers filed their criminal complaint on July 30.
Source: Radar / Tanjug via Srpske Novine, Nov 1
Accounts of the grounds for suspicion differ, and all of them are allegations, not findings. Radar reported that Kricak is suspected of falsifying evidence in the “Senjak 27” case and of pressuring witnesses and defendants to fit an already formed version of events. Tanjug reported that both men were arrested over unlawful conduct in the same case and over beating some suspects at a police station during questioning. No guilt has been established, and no response from Kricak, Sekulovic or their lawyers had been published at the time of reporting.
A Vucic loyalist whom students wanted removed
Kricak is seen as a loyalist to defeated President Aleksandar Vucic, and student groups had accused him of brutality in the police response to the demonstrations that helped bring down Vucic's ruling party — accusations reported by AFP and AP, which also reported that he was accused of orchestrating violence during the student protests, allegations he has denied in that context. Last week the students demanded his removal, along with that of several other police and intelligence chiefs, as part of sweeping reforms. The prosecutor's office provided no link between the arrest and those demands. “This arrest has no link with … the result of the legislative elections,” Stefanovic told journalists. The Student List won a historic victory on October 25 in snap elections called by Vucic after nearly two years of protests, ending 14 years of rule by his Serbian Progressive Party.
What is solid
- Belgrade's chief prosecutor Nenad Stefanovic said on Sunday that Kricak and Sekulovic were arrested on suspicion of abusing their offices and failing in their duties, harming the rights of former Belgrade police chief Veselin Milic (AFP)
- AP reported that prosecutors ordered a 48-hour detention of Kricak and that another senior officer was detained with him over a murder investigation
- Stefanovic told journalists the arrest has no link with the result of the October 25 legislative elections, which the Student List won
What is only claimed
- What exactly the two men are suspected of doing — Radar reported evidence falsification and pressure on witnesses in the Senjak case, while Tanjug reported unlawful conduct and the beating of suspects during questioning; the accounts differ and none is an established finding
- Whether Sekulovic was formally arrested or only brought in — Danas and N1 described him as brought in on the same complaint, while Novosti and B92 reported he was handcuffed, according to Serbian reporting
- Any link between the arrest and the students' demand last week for Kricak's removal — the prosecutor denies an election link and offered no connection to the students' demands
It was not yet known when Kricak and Sekulovic will be questioned, or whether prosecutors will seek longer custody after the 48-hour detention AP reported. A fuller statement from the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office was expected, Serbian media reported. The arrests came on the same day Serbia marked two years since the Novi Sad railway station disaster that set off the protest movement.
The arrests came as thousands gathered in Novi Sad on Sunday to mark two years since the station canopy collapse that killed 16 people and launched the movement that toppled Vucic's government. Read: Tens of thousands mark two years since the Novi Sad station disaster