6/6/2016 HRA WELCOMES DECISION OF THE BASIC STATE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE TO PROSECUTE COMMANDER OF THE SPECIAL ANTI-TERRORIST UNIT
HRA welcomes the decision of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office that on 1st June 2016 finally filed a bill of indictment against the commander of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit Radosav Lješković charging him with criminal offense Assisting the perpetrator of the criminal offense. According to the announcement, Basic State Prosecutor’s Office accused Lješković of helping members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit to remain undetected although investigation in several cases proved they applied excessive force to certain citizens on 24 October 2015 (following protest organized by the Democratic Front).
Bearing in mind that more than seven months passed since members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, commanded by Lješković, had brutally beaten Mr. Milorad Martinović, and also other citizens in protest after the incident, and that Lješković then refused to cooperate in the investigation, we hope that the State Prosecutor’s Office in similar situations in the future will move to prosecute public officials who openly oppose the law without hesitation.
The Ombudsman found earlier in his opinion (in December 2015) that members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit tortured Martinović. Until today, the Police did not follow Ombudsman’s recommendation to identify police officers (with the exception of the two by their own admission), who applied excessive force and caused Martinović grievous bodily harm.
The NGO Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector (MANS) filed a criminal complaint against Lješković already in early November 2015, reporting him for perpetration of criminal offenses Assisting the perpetrator of the criminal offense, Perjury, Forgery of official documents and abuse of office. The Ombudsman then on 30 May 2016 filed a criminal complaint against Lješković due to the criminal offense Abuse of office in connection with the criminal offense Obstruction of Justice.
HRA invites once again the Director of the Police Directorate, Mr Slavko StojanoviĆ to also urgently act upon the Ombudsman’s recommendation and secure identification and prosecution of police officers who have beaten two young men following the protest on 24 October 2015, in Miljana Vukova street („Zlatarska“ street). If the Director Stojanović will persist in his decision not to contribute to the identification of those officers, we invite the Head of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, Ms Ljiljana Klikovac to, following the example of the decision in the case of Commander Lješković, raise the issue of determining the liability of Director Stojanović. HRA also again urges the state prosecutors to identify those police officers who supported their colleagues – perpetrators of the ill-treatment by refusing to process the criminal charge the victims came to file and hence denied them protection in accordance with the law.
Finally, we invite the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office to identify and prosecute officials who injured editor of the Portal IN4S Gojko Raičević, on 17th and 24th October 2015, in accordance with the recommendation of the Council for Civil Control of Police.
