More than 90 people have been arrested in Serbia since the parliamentary elections held on October 25, as a series of police operations have been launched ahead of the formation of a new government.
According to data published on the Serbian Interior Ministry’s website and reported by RTS, those detained include public officials, police officers, directors of public institutions and other senior figures suspected of various criminal offences.
Among the most prominent individuals arrested are Marko Kričak, head of the Criminal Police Directorate; Boško Sekulić, head of the Criminal Suppression Service; and Igor Žmirić, commander of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ). Seventeen other police officers have also been arrested on suspicion of various criminal offences, including murder.
Other high-profile detainees include Alta Bank owner Davor Macura, Provincial Secretary for Social Policy Predrag Vuletić, Director of the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute Jugoslav Nikolić, Zabela Prison Governor Rodoljub Rončević and Inđija Mayor Marko Gašić.
Speaking to RTS, Goran Ilić, a professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, said the recent arrests indicate that previously marginalised factions within state institutions are now taking the opportunity to demonstrate their activity and position themselves favourably ahead of the new government.
He described the developments as evidence of a visible shift within state institutions, adding that the situation raises questions about why prosecutors and courts had not acted in the same way earlier.
Ilić noted that courts and prosecutors had the same legal powers before, but the key question had been whether cases would be pursued or left unresolved.
“Within the institutions themselves, a faction that had previously been sidelined is using this opportunity to come forward. But what is fundamentally important, as Galileo once said, is that ‘something is moving’. It is moving in a positive direction. This does not mean that anyone has been declared guilty simply because they have been detained. The presumption of innocence applies to them as well,” Ilić said.
Questions over judicial independence
The professor pointed out that many of those detained are linked to the recently governing political establishment, which he accused of placing the judiciary under political control.
He argued that, with some exceptions, Serbia had seen limited evidence of prosecutors and courts independently carrying out their responsibilities over almost 15 years.
“Prosecutors are obliged to prosecute those who commit criminal offences, while courts must resolve cases brought before them. That was not happening,” Ilić said.
He also noted that approximately 95 per cent of the judicial workforce had been appointed or promoted over the past 15 years, including to the highest judicial institutions, particularly the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. He said similar concerns applied to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime.
According to Ilić, police and prosecutorial officials involved in the recent operations may also be seeking to demonstrate their effectiveness to the incoming government.
However, he argued that they should be asked why they had not acted earlier. He singled out Judge Miodrag Majić as one of the few judicial figures who had publicly expressed such concerns and faced consequences as a result.
Reforms require political will
Discussing possible measures to restore public confidence in the police, prosecution and judiciary, Ilić expressed support for the Students’ List proposal to establish a specialised prosecutorial police force.
He recalled that a similar initiative had been attempted in 2011 but failed to advance due to a lack of political support.
“If there is political will, we should move in a positive direction. If there is no political will, or if it does not last, then all our efforts will have been in vain,” he said.
Ilić described himself as optimistic, arguing that young people had clearly expressed the need for institutional change. Having taught at the Faculty of Law for 30 years, he said their initiative should be given room to develop.
He called for a measured approach, urging policymakers to make use of existing legal frameworks and available personnel rather than rushing into changes.
The professor also recalled that after the previous democratic government lost power in 2012, several proceedings against ministers ended in acquittals or were discontinued because of the statute of limitations.
“In our country, no minister has been held accountable for their actions at the highest level of government, except during the time of Slobodan Milošević. I would like this to be a sign of a new era, but we still have to wait and see,” Ilić concluded.
