Dragijevic: Prosecutors Seek Detention for Eight Officers
All eight members of the Criminal Police Directorate were questioned at the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Nis. The prosecutor wants them detained, and a Higher Court judge will decide.
Eight members of the Criminal Police Directorate of the Interior Ministry (MUP) were questioned on November 7 at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nis over the death of Dalibor Dragijevic on the premises of the Bor Police Department. All of them gave a defense statement, and the prosecutor in charge proposed that they be placed in detention.
We reported earlier on the arrests of the officers. What is new is that the questioning has been carried out, that the initials of the suspects and the exact legal classification of the offense have been released, and that prosecutors have filed a motion for detention.
What are the suspects charged with?
Those questioned were N.P., M.LJ., B.M., I.T., M.S., M.B. and Z.DJ., all from Belgrade, along with J.K. from Nova Pazova. They are suspected of committing the offense of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the injured person, together with abuse and torture, as co-perpetrators. Dalibor Dragijevic’s death was recorded on April 7, 2024, more than two and a half years before this questioning.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nis said in a statement:
“On November 7, 2026, the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nis questioned the following officers of the Ministry of Interior, Criminal Police Directorate: suspect N.P., suspect M.LJ., suspect B.M., suspect I.T., suspect M.S., suspect M.B. and suspect Z.DJ., all from Belgrade, and suspect J.K. from Nova Pazova, on grounds of suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of Grievous Bodily Harm Resulting in Death of the Injured Person, in conjunction with the criminal offense of Abuse and Torture, as co-perpetrators, to the detriment of the injured party D.D., whose death was recorded on April 7, 2024, in the official premises of the Police Department in Bor.”
The prosecutors said the offense is suspected to have been committed jointly, as co-perpetrators, and not attributed to any single one of the eight.
Why do prosecutors want detention?
Detention is sought on three grounds. Prosecutors argue there are special circumstances indicating that the suspects could obstruct the proceedings by influencing witnesses, that they could repeat the offense within a short period of time, and that public unrest could jeopardize the undisturbed and fair conduct of the proceedings.
The motion covers all eight suspects. The prosecutors said in the same statement:
“After the questioning, the prosecutor in charge at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nis proposed to the pretrial judge of the Higher Court in Nis that detention be ordered against suspect N.P., suspect J.K., suspect M.LJ., suspect B.M., suspect I.T., suspect M.S., suspect M.B. and suspect Z.DJ., on the grounds of special circumstances indicating that the suspects will obstruct the proceedings by influencing witnesses, special circumstances indicating that the suspects will repeat the criminal offense within a short period of time, and because of public unrest that may jeopardize the undisturbed and fair conduct of the criminal proceedings.”
What happens next?
The pretrial judge of the Higher Court in Nis will rule on the motion. No decision had been announced by the time of publication. The eight are suspects, not convicted, and the court will decide on their responsibility.
