Sexual Harassment in Zvezdara: Suspect, 47, Arrested

Belgrade police arrested Azerbaijani national R. G. (47) on suspicion of sexually harassing a woman in Zvezdara. On Saturday, the suspect entered without permission the yard of a family home where the victim, A. J. (30), was present. Her husband broke off the attack, overpowering the suspect and holding him until police arrived. The man was then ordered held for up to 48 hours.

How the Attack in the Yard Unfolded

According to unofficial information, the suspect approached the woman and started touching her body. She managed to break free and ran into the house to call her husband.

The suspect did not give up. He followed her inside and there ran into her husband, who overpowered him and held him until a patrol reached the address. Police officers arrested him on the spot.

The first reports of the case appeared in the media only on Sunday evening, at 11:26 p.m., two days after the incident itself.

Was the Husband Allowed to Restrain the Attacker Himself?

Yes. Serbia’s Criminal Procedure Code allows any person to detain someone caught committing a criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio. The condition is that the detained person be handed over to the public prosecutor or police immediately.

That authority has narrow limits. It covers holding the person until the authorities arrive, not settling matters with them directly. In this case, police came to the scene and carried out the arrest themselves, so the case now proceeds through the prosecution.

A hold of up to 48 hours is ordered by a formal decision. The clock starts running from the moment of arrest, and the suspect has the right to a defense lawyer from that point on.

What Sexual Harassment Means Under Serbia’s Criminal Code

Sexual harassment became a separate criminal offense under 2016 amendments to Serbia’s Criminal Code. The basic form carries a fine or a prison term of up to six months.

If the offense is committed against a minor, the range is three months to three years in prison. Prosecution of the basic form requires a motion from the victim, which gives the victim’s position in such a case procedural weight, not just evidentiary value.

Timeline of the Case

• Saturday: the suspect enters the yard of a family home in Zvezdara and attacks the victim
• Same day: the suspect is arrested at the scene and ordered held for up to 48 hours
• Sunday, 11:26 p.m.: the first media reports on the case appear
• After the hold: the suspect is brought before prosecutors along with a criminal complaint

What Happens After the Hold

The suspect is being brought, along with a criminal complaint, before the First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, which is handling the case.

Prosecutors will decide on the next steps and on the final legal classification of the offense, which does not have to match the one in the criminal complaint. The unauthorized entry into the yard, and then into the house itself, is a circumstance prosecutors will weigh alongside the suspect’s described conduct.

If prosecutors assess a risk of flight or of the suspect obstructing the proceedings, they can propose measures to secure the defendant’s presence. The range is wide, from a ban on leaving his place of residence and a restraining order against the victim, through bail, to a motion for pretrial detention. For foreign nationals, this question is typically raised earlier than for domestic defendants, since their ties to an address in Serbia are weaker.

Serbia’s Criminal Code also provides for expulsion of a foreign national as a security measure. That decision rests with a court and can only follow a conviction, so it has no place in the discussion at this stage of the proceedings.

The suspect is charged with a criminal offense and is presumed innocent until a final verdict. The identity of the victim and her family is not being disclosed.