Sapic questioned as suspect in serious bodily harm case

The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade confirmed to N1 and Insajder that it has opened a case against Mayor Aleksandar Sapic and is conducting a pre-investigation. The suspicion rests on two offenses, grievous bodily harm and violent behavior. A public prosecutor questioned Sapic as a suspect, and no decision has yet been made on how the case will be closed.

The trigger was an incident on the evening of October 5 in Bezanijska Kosa, in which Tatjana Micic, a councillor from the Kreni-Promeni movement in the Belgrade City Assembly, was injured. The session on his dismissal is scheduled for tomorrow.

What has the prosecutor’s office done so far?

In a response to N1, a spokeswoman for the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office said the prosecutor handling the case ordered police officers of the Criminal Police Directorate’s Crime Suppression Service to obtain footage from all available security and surveillance cameras that may have recorded the event. She then described the requests made to the hospital:

“In addition, the Emergency Center of the University Clinical Center of Serbia was asked to submit complete medical records for all other participants in the event, while the public prosecutor again requested complete medical records for the injured party, Tatjana Micic,” the spokeswoman for the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office said in her response to N1.

The sources differ on Micic’s procedural status. N1 reports that the prosecutor questioned her as a witness, while Insajder says she was heard as the injured party. Insajder adds that the complete medical records are still awaited.

On the next steps in the case, the spokeswoman said:

“In the further course of the proceedings, all available evidence will be obtained and analyzed, and other necessary actions will be taken for a full, objective and lawful establishment of all facts and circumstances relevant to the public prosecutor’s decision. The public will be informed in a timely manner of all relevant facts that can be disclosed without endangering the rights of the participants in the proceedings.”

What is known about the incident itself?

According to N1, Micic said that same evening that she met Sapic during a walk and that, after a verbal argument, he hit her on the nose. N1 reports that she was diagnosed with a fracture of the left nasal bone, while Kreni-Promeni claims her nose and part of her upper jaw were broken.

At a press conference on October 6, Sapic denied hitting the councillor. He said he pushed her away when her husband moved toward him, and that he was the first to address Micic and start the argument. Kreni-Promeni then published a video in which, according to N1, a punch can be seen while Micic films the argument on her phone. N1 adds that media close to the authorities report the opposite, that the councillor and her husband started the incident and physically attacked the mayor.

What is known about the session set for Tuesday?

City Assembly Speaker Nikola Nikodijevic scheduled the session for Tuesday, October 13, at 10 a.m. Its only agenda item is the proposal to dismiss the mayor. Kreni-Promeni leader Savo Manojlovic said that 41 opposition councillors requested the session.

The Center for Local Self-Government says councillors of the ruling majority will not provide a quorum and that the session will be repeated only after the parliamentary elections on October 25. The Center assesses that the real referendum on Sapic will be the vote on October 25. The ruling majority has not confirmed this announcement in the available sources, and a quorum is established only at the start of a session, so the outcome is known only once the councillors gather.