Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has said he is not afraid of possible arrest under the country’s new authorities, arguing that they would struggle to find any serious legal grounds to detain him. He also accused criminal groups linked to the Kavač and Vračar clans of operating in Serbia in cooperation with the incoming government, without providing evidence for the allegation.
Vučić, who heads the “United Serbia” electoral list, made the remarks during an appearance Sunday evening on TV Pink’s Hit Tvit program, following his list’s defeat in the early parliamentary elections to the Student List. His comments were reported by Serbian media outlets B92, Alo and Danas.
Asked about suggestions that he could face arrest following the political changes, Vučić said the new authorities had no convincing grounds to pursue him.
“It is very difficult, almost impossible, to find a serious reason. Otherwise, you would never even look for one if your political opponents had a little honor. Arresting a former president?” he said.
Vučić denied having signed documents related to public funds, claiming that he had never engaged in financial transactions that could expose him to criminal liability.
“I don’t sign anything involving money. You can look for whether I told someone something somewhere. It’s all just talk. They have nothing and they can do nothing,” he said.
He also denied ever engaging in criminal activity and claimed he had no bank accounts abroad or property outside Serbia. He argued that political mistakes should not be treated as criminal offenses.
Vučić acknowledges issuing dozens of pardons
The former president also addressed renewed calls for information about pardons and clemency decisions made during his presidency.
Vučić confirmed that he had issued a number of pardons, estimating that there were between 47 and 49, although he said he could not remember the exact figure.
“There were 47, 49, I don’t know exactly how many,” he said.
Among the best-known beneficiaries, he mentioned Mila Pajić, an activist from Novi Sad. Vučić maintained that granting pardons was a constitutional and legal power of the president and said the process required an opinion from the Ministry of Justice.
He rejected suggestions that the new authorities could reverse those decisions retroactively, arguing that a change of government did not invalidate presidential pardons already granted.
References to Sarajevo Safari and previous allegations
Discussing accusations previously made against him, Vučić referred to the so-called “Sarajevo Safari” case, as well as allegations concerning the Jovanjica affair and the use of a sound cannon during protests.
He denied all the accusations.
“They accused me of ‘Sarajevo Safari.’ I didn’t even understand exactly what they were accusing me of in the Jovanjica case, and in the end they said they had lied. They accused me over the sound cannon. Of course, they lied, because there was no sound cannon,” Vučić said.
The article noted that a German court in May temporarily prohibited Der Spiegel from publishing an allegation that Vučić had been involved in the “Sarajevo Safari” affair.
Accuses criminal groups of operating with political backing
Vučić also alleged that criminal groups connected to the Kavač and Vračar clans, as well as other Montenegrin criminal networks, were extorting business owners and forcing them to transfer ownership of their companies.
He claimed these activities were taking place in coordination with the new authorities, citing an alleged case involving a company in Aranđelovac from which criminals had supposedly demanded a 50% ownership stake.
“Criminals are doing this now. Old criminals and new criminals are appearing, mostly drug dealers,” he said.
Vučić also criticized Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS, accusing it of featuring a person wanted under an international arrest warrant in its main evening news program.
“We have become a banana, semi-criminal state in three days, in the full sense of the word,” he said.
Comments on Kričak’s arrest and TV Informer
Vučić also addressed the arrest of senior police official Marko Kričak, linking the case to internal disputes within the police. He said he was unhappy with the situation surrounding Kričak and questioned whether senior police officials should have been left uninformed about the arrest.
He called on the new authorities not to shut down TV Informer, following controversy over footage of his visit to a family in which a child’s face had not been blurred.
Vučić also commented on the composition of Serbia’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), claiming that the balance of its members would soon shift decisively in favor of the new authorities.
He warned that shutting down Informer would leave 330 families without income.
Vučić denies his family has left Serbia
The former president rejected claims that he or members of his family had left the country following the election result.
“All members of my family, immediate and extended, are here. None has fled, and none will. We have no reason to,” he said.
Vučić also claimed that his 82-year-old mother had recently been robbed of her handbag and suffered minor injuries. He alleged that the young man responsible had acted on someone’s instructions as part of an attempt to intimidate his family, but did not identify the person he believed had ordered the incident.
Remarks on Republika Srpska and Montenegro
Vučić said Serbia’s new leadership should establish constructive relations with the authorities in Republika Srpska, adding that he would support such efforts.
He also criticized Dejan Šoškić, a candidate on the Student List, over an interview with Montenegro’s Pobjeda newspaper. Vučić disputed Šoškić’s characterization of Serbs in Montenegro, insisting that they should not be considered a national minority.
Concluding his remarks, Vučić acknowledged that a rapid return to power was unlikely but vowed to defeat his political opponents in the future.
“I plan for us to defeat them. And we will defeat them,” he said.
He added that his electoral list would have 103 or 104 seats in the new Serbian parliament.
