New Belgrade: detention ordered for suspect in 'Dzeri' restaurant attempted murder
Mihajlo D. (24) is charged with aggravated attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm; the victim, G. S., suffered serious bodily injuries, the prosecutor's office says.
On the order of Belgrade’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, Mihajlo D. (24) was questioned on 24 May on reasonable suspicion that on 21 May, at the “Dzeri” restaurant in New Belgrade, he had attempted to take the life of G. S. The prosecutor’s office charges the suspect with aggravated attempted murder and unlawful production, possession, carrying and trade in weapons and explosive materials.
According to the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, between 11am and noon the suspect entered the premises, sat at a table diagonally opposite the victim and fired four to five shots from a revolver towards G. S. The victim suffered serious bodily injuries and was taken to Belgrade’s Emergency Centre, where he was admitted to the red zone. According to the statement, the injured man’s life is in danger.
A member of the Ministry of the Interior, who was in the restaurant as a guest at the time of the attack, followed the suspect as he tried to flee. After Mihajlo D. lost his balance outside the venue, the officer detained him and handed him to a patrol that had arrived at the scene. On that occasion a weapon was seized which is reasonably suspected to have been used in the attack.
After being questioned at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, Mihajlo D. was taken to a holding facility, and the prosecutor’s office proposed up to thirty days of pre-trial detention to the court. A panel of the Higher Court in Belgrade ordered detention the same day, the prosecutor’s office says.
President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic told the media that it was a matter of “a reaction by the Vracar clan” to the arrests in the Senjak case and a recent drugs seizure. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office has not officially confirmed a connection with other ongoing investigations. Lawyer Goran Petronijevic, in a statement to the daily Politika, recalls that nobody should be classified in advance or linked to an organised group before the prosecutor’s office has done so procedurally.
The offence of aggravated attempted murder under Article 114 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, read together with Article 30, carries at least ten years in prison or a sentence of thirty to forty years. Because the act remained at the attempt stage, the court has a statutory basis for a lighter sentence, but the decision depends on the assessment of the specific circumstances.
Media outlets have published footage of the arrest, but the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office has neither confirmed where the footage came from nor clarified whether it forms part of the evidence. The Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) noted that the public broadcasting of footage of detained suspects, before an indictment is filed, may affect the presumption of innocence.
The next procedural step is the issuance of a decision to conduct an investigation, after which the prosecutor’s office will question witnesses, including the police officer who intervened and the guests present at the venue. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the investigation can last up to six months, with the possibility of extension.
