Appeals Court Judge Miodrag Majic said on Thursday that the charges filed by senior Serbian ruling party officials against President Aleksandar Vucic and Internal Affairs Minister Aleksandar Vulin were just for show.
Novi Sad Mayor and senior Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) officials Milos Vucevic said that he filed charges against Vucic and Vulin because of claims in the media that they had contact with organized crime boss Veljko Belivuk and his associates. Parts of Belivuk’s statement to prosecutors were published by the KRIK investigative portal, including allegations that Vucic asked the crime boss to take control of Partizan FC supporter groups opposed to the authorities.
Majic told Belgrade daily Danas that the charges based on media reports are not legally charges. “Even before they filed them I said that they would wrap them in some form. The call for a reaction from institutions to media reports is not criminal charges. They just called them that as a show for the public,” Majic said.
He said the charges were not released to the public because the whole thing is an attempt to demean the judiciary. “First you fake some kind of procedure and then send a message to the prosecution that they can’t do the job without being pushed by us,” Majic said. He recalled the Jovanjica marijuana farm case when the authorities did the same thing, filing charges to clear state officials.