Senjak: another person brought in, the number of those arrested rises to ten

Belgrade’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on 24 May that, in the continuing investigation of an aggravated murder at the “27” restaurant on Senjak, another person had been brought in, taking the total number of those arrested in the case to ten. On the prosecutor’s order, nine suspects have been remanded in custody for up to thirty days, while one woman has been placed under house arrest, the statement said.

The shooting in which Aleksandar Nesovic disappeared took place on the night between 12 and 13 May, after 11pm, in a venue on Senjak. The prosecutor’s office made the chronology of events public after criticism of the speed of its response. According to the statement, the missing man’s wife reported him to the police on 13 May at around 4pm, and the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office was officially notified the same day at 8.47pm.

The acting deputy prosecutor began the on-site investigation at the “27” restaurant at 9.09pm. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office issued its first official statement on the case on 14 May, noting a reasonable suspicion that a firearm had been discharged inside the venue.

Among those brought in is Veselin Milic, the former head of the Belgrade City Police Administration, who is charged with several criminal offences allegedly committed in his official capacity in order to cover up an aggravated attempted murder, the prosecutor’s office says. By court order, Veselin Milic has been remanded in custody for up to thirty days.

Also brought in were N. L. (50), said to be the owner of the venue on Senjak where Nesovic was last seen, and D. S. (51), on reasonable suspicion of having committed the offence of assisting an offender after the commission of a criminal act. In custody is also D. V., the wife of one of the men suspected earlier.

The prosecutor’s office says that seventy orders for various expert examinations, including biological and dactyloscopic, have been issued to date. Searches have been carried out at several locations in and around Belgrade. Forensic teams recently opened a barrel found at one of the searched sites, but no official finding on any possible human remains has been released.

The acting prosecutor for organised crime has not commented publicly on the motive for the attack, nor has any link with other ongoing cases been confirmed publicly. The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office said the public would be informed of verified facts in due course, warning that inaccurate interpretations endanger the investigation.

The next procedural stage is the issuance of a decision to conduct an investigation against all the suspects, after which the prosecutor’s office will gather evidence with a view to a possible indictment. Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the thirty-day pre-trial detention can be extended by court order for a further two months if the Higher Court in Belgrade so decides.