Senjak: thirty-day detention clock is ticking, what awaits the suspects in the next phase

The thirty-day pre-trial detention imposed on the ten suspects in the case of Aleksandar N.’s disappearance from a restaurant on Senjak began running in mid-May. Belgrade’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office must, by mid-June, either issue a decision to conduct an investigation or ask a Higher Court panel to extend detention by a further two months, as provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Nine of the suspects have been remanded in custody for up to thirty days on the prosecutor’s order, while one woman has been placed under house arrest, according to the latest official statement by Belgrade’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office. Among those suspected is Veselin Milic, former head of the Belgrade City Police Administration, along with members of his security detail, who are charged with several criminal offences allegedly committed in their official capacity to cover up an aggravated attempted murder.

According to unofficial sources, the acting prosecutor for organised crime has engaged a team of five expert witnesses, including specialists in biology, dactyloscopy, ballistics, firearms discharge and digital forensic analysis. Seventy orders for various expert examinations have been issued so far, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office says.

After the first thirty days of detention expire, the court has the authority to extend the measure by up to two further months, giving the investigation an overall window of three months before any indictment. In exceptional cases, where proceedings are conducted for an offence falling within the jurisdiction of the Organised Crime Prosecutor’s Office, detention may last up to six months if the Court of Appeal so decides.

S. V., known by the nickname Boske, is suspected of having fired a firearm at Aleksandar N. in the restaurant on Senjak on 12 May. Identification of the missing man’s body had not, at the time of writing, been carried out, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office says, although forensic teams in recent days opened a barrel found during a search of one of the sites. No official expert finding has been released.

What is the next procedural step for the ten suspects?

The proceedings against the suspects at this phase are conducted as an investigation led by the public prosecutor, which has been standard procedure in Serbian criminal proceedings since the 2011 reforms. The prosecutor’s office gathers evidence, questions witnesses and experts, and decides whether there is sufficient reasonable suspicion to file an indictment.

Under the Code, defence counsel for the suspects have the right to inspect all collected evidence and to propose their own investigative actions. A request by defence counsel for three of the former chief’s security detail to have detention replaced by house arrest has been announced; this is something the court examines on application. The Higher Court panel decides in line with the gravity of the offence and the risk of flight, repetition of the criminal act or obstruction of the investigation.

Is the public following the Senjak case in sufficient detail? Write to the editorial team if you would like ongoing coverage of new phases.