The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade said Friday that the political movement Kreni-Promeni was exerting pressure on the prosecutor handling a case involving one of the movement’s councilors, Tatjana Mićić, who alleges that she was attacked by Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapić.
The prosecutor’s office said Kreni-Promeni had targeted the prosecutor, Mirko Despotović, in a social media post, referring to him as a “prosecutor who protects Aleksandar Šapić” following the reported incident.
In a statement published on its website, the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office said there was a distinction between requesting information about the work of state institutions and publicly accusing a prosecutor of protecting a particular person or acting under political pressure.
“There is a clear distinction between seeking information about the work of state authorities and publicly imputing to the acting prosecutor that he ‘protects’ a certain person, acts under political or any other pressure, or participates in obstructing proceedings, without facts or evidence to substantiate such claims,” the prosecution said.
The office stressed that prosecutorial decisions are not based on the political affiliation, public office or social status of anyone involved in a case, nor are they influenced by political statements, media reports or the expectations of particular interest groups.
Instead, it said decisions are based on the facts and available evidence at the time a specific decision is made, in accordance with the law.
The prosecution said that, given the manner in which the prosecutor had been publicly identified and subjected to pressure in connection with the case, it would notify the High Prosecutorial Council.
The notification, it said, would allow the council to consider whether there had been inappropriate influence on the work of a public prosecutor and whether measures within its jurisdiction were warranted.
The dispute follows allegations by Kreni-Promeni councilor Tatjana Mićić concerning an incident involving Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Šapić.
