The Vice President of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), Borko Stefanović, issued a scathing critique of Serbia’s security apparatus on Tuesday, characterizing the explosive arrest of Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milić as definitive proof of the complete collapse of the state.
Milić, a high-ranking official within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and former security adviser to President Aleksandar Vučić, was arrested on May 15 following an intense judicial investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Aleksandar Nešković (alias “Baja”) inside a restaurant in the upscale Belgrade neighborhood of Senjak. Milić is formally charged with concealing a felony and aiding a perpetrator after the commission of a crime after allegedly witnessing a violent shootout at the venue and actively deploying his underlings to cover it up.
Organized Crime Has Swallowed the Police Force
Appearing on N1 Television, Stefanović argued that the Senjak restaurant scandal exposes a deeply rooted systemic failure where the boundaries dividing state institutions from organized criminal networks have been entirely obliterated.
“I believe that organized crime has almost completely taken over the police force,” Stefanović declared. “There is an honorable minority that still abides by the law, but the vast majority is dishonorable, acting entirely in the service of criminals and powerful tycoons.”
The opposition lawmaker stressed that the arrest should not be treated as an isolated incident of individual wrongdoing. “Veselin Milić didn’t just fall from Mars. He is the direct product of an environment replicated in thousands of places across Serbia—the only difference is that this specific case actually got exposed,” Stefanović added.
[THE SENJAK SCANDAL CHAIN OF ARRESTS]
• The Incident (May 12): Violent dispute at a Senjak restaurant -> Disappearance of A. Nešković.
• The First Wave: 3 Active-Duty Police Officers arrested for aiding the shooter.
• The Climax (May 15): Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milić arrested & summarily dismissed.
• Political Fallout: Opposition demands criminal accountability for MUP Leadership.
Demands for Systemic Accountability: Calling for Dačić’s Omission Charges
In light of the fact that active-duty police officers from Milić’s personal security detail were caught helping the shooter flee, the SSP and a coalition of opposition parties have expanded their political demands beyond Milić’s summary dismissal.
The opposition is formally demanding the immediate resignation of Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić and Police Director Dragan Vasiljević.
Stefanović insisted that prosecutors must expand the ongoing criminal proceedings to hold the highest echelons of the MUP legally liable for systemic negligence. “We are demanding that the criminal investigation be broadened so that Dačić and Vasiljević face justice for their deliberate inaction and complicity by omission,” he concluded.
The evolving scandal has sent shockwaves through the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). With President Vučić floating the idea of holding rapid snap elections this summer, political analysts note that the discovery of top-tier police chiefs operating hand-in-hand with underworld figures has created a massive political crisis that could severely disrupt the government’s upcoming electoral timeline.
