BIRN: Krusik’s whistleblower offered end of procedure to keep silent

NEWS 27.11.201920:04
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Two men approached a relative of Aleksandar Obradovic, a whistleblower from the the western town of Valjevo ammunition factory Krusik, asking him to pass on a message to Obradovic who has been under house arrest that they could end the legal procedure against him in exchange for his silence about wrongdoings in the company which he linked to the father of the Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reported on Wednesday.

The men identified themselves as Serbia’s secret service agents, adding that if he refused, he ‘would be screwed up.’

They told the relative who they knew from before that “everything will end well” if Obradovic stopped speaking about the dubious arms trade deals.

Obradovic’s lawyer Vladimir Gajic informed the Deputy Prosecutor for organised crime Jasmina Milanovic Ganic about the offer and about the identity of the people who were supposed to pass the message and a threat to Obradovic.

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 He told her he doubted they were secret agents, “since they never threaten, they work in darkness,” but that the men probably were some people from the underground who passed on the information from the Minister “who is directly affected by the Krusik affair.”

The lawyer said he received a reply 20 days later saying the case was transferred to the Higher Public Prosecutors’ Office since it led the proceeding against Obradovic.

„As I know who runs that prosecutors’ office, it’s clear to me I was naive hoping to push the case through legal institutions. They don’t exist in Serbia. That’s crystal clear,” Gajic said, adding the country became “(President) Aleksandar Vucic’s califate in which he does what he wants.”

On Wednesday, Serbia’s Prosecutors’ Office for Organised Crime demanded the Military Counter-Intelligence Agency (VBA) and civilian secret service (BIA) to launch a probe into arms trade deals of the ammunition Krusik factory with private companies, the Belgrade NIN weekly reported.

Gajic nevertheless said he would lead Obradovic defence before both domestic and foreign institutions.

„The scope of the damage Vucic’s regime will suffer will be seen in the days to come,“ Gajic said.

BIRN said they tried to get answers about the case from all relevant courts and agencies, but no one replied.