Detention of Interior Ministry officers
A Belgrade court ordered up to 30 days of detention for nine current and former employees of the Serbian Interior Ministry in the capital on Friday. This group includes Igor Zmiric, the commander of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, who faces allegations of abusing and torturing students and others in the government building garage. I see the court’s decision to remand these suspects in custody as a way to prevent them from influencing witnesses or obstructing criminal proceedings regarding the August 14, 2025, incident. The suspects, who worked as officers of the JZO, a police unit used to protect high-ranking state officials and major government buildings, allegedly used force and threats to inflict pain and suffering to obtain information and intimidate people through unlawful punishment. Among the arrested is Milan Vukovic, a retired JZO officer who now acts as the director of the detention facility where the former JZO chief Marko Kricak is held. Kricak also faces arrest in connection with a separate murder investigation in Belgrade, though protesters accused him of using excessive force. I find the court’s decision to detain the group necessary because the seriousness of the offense and the public concern it caused could jeopardize the fair conduct of the proceedings.
Allegations of violence in the government garage
Student Nikolina Sindjelic alleged that Kricak threatened her with rape while she was detained in the garage beneath the government building during the mass anti-government protests in August 2025. BIRN obtained testimonies from four detainees and interviewed five others who described being beaten and threatened with sexual violence while seeing their belongings destroyed. At least 15 people were detained in the garage that night. Rights groups Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders warned that the alleged treatment could amount to torture and violate international law. While the Interior Ministry rejected the allegations at the time and claimed officers acted in accordance with the law, President Aleksandar Vucic later announced that the ministry’s internal affairs unit would investigate the claims made by Sindjelic. I find it questionable that the promised internal probe was never confirmed to have been carried out following the incident in the government garage.
