Sergej Trifunovic Questioned Over 8,990-Dinar Blazer

Sergej Trifunovic went to the Savski Venac police station on his own on August 7 to give a statement about an incident at the Zara store in Belgrade’s Galerija mall. Earlier that day, his wife Isidora Mijanovic had been brought to the same station after a security guard reported that she had walked out of the store with a blazer worth 8,990 dinars.

His version of events is short, and quite different from the report. He says the blazer ended up in the bag by accident.

How the argument at Galerija started

Security stopped Mijanovic on her way out of the store and asked to check the bags she was carrying. Trifunovic wouldn’t allow it. An argument broke out in front of the store, and security staff called the police.

Police brought Mijanovic to the station to establish the circumstances. Trifunovic wasn’t brought in with her, he arrived at the station later, on his own.

What did Trifunovic tell police?

Inside the station, he insisted on giving his side of the story. He said he and his wife had been shopping at Galerija and that the alarm only went off as they were leaving Zara. That’s when, he says, they noticed that an item his wife had tried on earlier had ended up among her things.

He also said he immediately offered to pay for the blazer. He claims security refused and insisted on calling the police instead.

Police took an official note from Trifunovic, described as information received from a citizen. That’s the term used when someone comes in voluntarily to say what they know, meaning he was not detained or questioned as a suspect. Police later stated that there was no breach of public peace and order in this case.

Not the first time the couple has sat in a police station

Here the story gets a second layer. Two years ago, Trifunovic and Mijanovic were already questioned at a police station, and the prosecutor found no grounds for a criminal case at the time.

That earlier questioning, however, led to a separate obligation. It was established that Mijanovic, a Croatian citizen, had not registered her stay in Serbia as required by law, and a misdemeanor complaint was filed against her under the Law on Foreigners. The fine for failing to register a stay ranges from 10,000 to 50,000 dinars, and she was also ordered at the time to leave the country within 24 hours.

So this case isn’t an isolated incident in a store, but another chapter in a file that already carries both their names.

What happens next with the report

The decision isn’t up to the police. They gather information and forward the file to the prosecutor’s office, which then assesses whether there are grounds for any proceedings and, if so, under what charge. The 8,990-dinar value is low, which in practice usually means a lighter charge than in cases involving larger amounts.

Until a final decision, Mijanovic is only accountable for what’s stated in the security report, and her account and her husband’s stand in the file on equal footing with that report.

The story spread across social media the same day, with most of the commentary focused on the explanation that the item ended up in the bag without being paid for. Trifunovic has accustomed the public to responding to criticism from his own account, so it’s a matter of time before he addresses this as well.

What is known so far comes down to a few points:

• the security report concerns a blazer worth 8,990 dinars
• Mijanovic was brought to the Savski Venac police station to give information
• Trifunovic came in voluntarily and gave a statement as a private citizen
• police said there was no breach of public peace and order