Serbia’s Commission of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the handling of the case against Milan Radoičić, a businessman with close ties to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić who claimed responsibility for the September 2023 armed attack in Banjska, northern Kosovo.
The review, ordered by Chief Public Prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac, is focusing in particular on why Radoičić was not placed in pretrial detention after being questioned at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, despite the seriousness of the criminal offenses under investigation.
According to Serbian outlet Nova.rs, one of the reasons cited for not ordering detention was that the prosecutor handling the case at the time, Nikola Pantelić, had included only one potential ground for detention in his request.
That ground was the risk that Radoičić might flee and obstruct the proceedings. However, reports noted that Radoičić had surrendered and appeared voluntarily before prosecutors for questioning.
The commission is also expected to examine why Pantelić did not invoke three other circumstances that could have justified pretrial detention: the risk of repeating a criminal offense, the possibility of influencing witnesses, and concerns over public safety and order.
Pantelić has since been promoted to head of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Pančevo.
The review forms part of a broader examination by the Commission of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office into how prosecutors in Serbia have handled selected cases, Nova.rs reported.
Radoičić claimed responsibility for organizing the armed attack in Banjska on September 24, 2023, in which Kosovo Police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. He has not been placed in pretrial detention in Serbia over the case, while Kosovo authorities have sought his prosecution.
The commission’s review could bring renewed scrutiny to the prosecutorial decisions that allowed Radoičić to remain free following his questioning in Belgrade.
