Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has released a video message after a 55-year-old man from the Kragujevac area was arrested for allegedly making death threats against him on social media.
At the beginning of the video, Vučić showed footage of the suspect, identified by the initials S.S., allegedly threatening him with a knife. He then said he believed the man was not inherently violent and announced that he would tell the court he did not feel personally threatened, a statement he said could be taken into account during the legal proceedings.
Earlier, Serbia’s Ministry of Interior announced that police had arrested S.S. on suspicion of posting a Facebook message containing death threats against the Serbian president.
“I am convinced he is not as bad a person or the kind of criminal he wanted to portray himself as. What he said is the result of manipulation by those who wanted to divide Serbia, divide our families, and who, through mainstream media and social networks, with enormous amounts of money from abroad, sought to destroy our beloved homeland,” Vučić said.
He added that the suspect was “one of the people who fell victim to those lies and falsehoods.”
“I am neither a prosecutor nor a judge, and despite how disturbing these threats are to hear, I will try to help him procedurally. I can do that not because I am president, but because I was the target of this appalling threat. I will state that I do not feel threatened, and that will certainly help him during the proceedings,” Vučić said.
The Serbian president also said he believed the man was fundamentally “a good family man from Šumadija who had been misled by terrible lies and falsehoods.”
Vučić expressed hope that within six months or a year, the man would no longer apologize by saying “I’m sorry, Mr. President,” but instead say, “Sorry, Aleksandar,” while appreciating developments such as the new Kragujevac bypass and the success of the Stellantis factory in the city.
The case remains under investigation by Serbian authorities.
