Serbia’s police arrest man suspected of threatening N1 Belgrade

N1

Serbia police said late on Tuesday it had arrested a man, 70, from Serbia's northern town of Nova Pazova, suspected of sending a letter with threats to N1 Belgrade reporters and their families two days ago, N1 reported.

The state Tanjug agency said the suspect would be held in 48-hour police custody.

The Third Basic Prosecutor’s Office ordered the custody, and the suspect would appear before the prosecutors within those 48 hours.

The arrest came only an hour and a couple of minutes after the Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic tweeted that police were investigating the threats and that he expected the result soon.

N1 Belgrade received threats in a letter saying its journalists and their families would be harmed, and the office building would be blown up.

The threats followed the regime’s hints that N1 “recognised Kosovo’s independence, ”  by showing it separately from Serbia in the weather forecast report, which was proved not to be the case.

N1 refers to Kosovo in line with UN Resolution 1244 form 1999, which is neutral regarding Serbia’s ex-province final status.

The police were immediately informed about the threats.

On Tuesday, journalists’ associations, some opposition parties, and OSCE condemned the attack, calling for an immediate investigation.

Serbia’s Ministry of Culture and Information also condemned the letter, saying dialogue with fists and use of force were far behind us.