"More prosecutors, judges face arrest"

"More prosecutors, judges face arrest"

Terzić, a former Belgrade district prosecutor, was arrested last Friday on charges of abuse of office and belonging to the Zemun Clan, a criminal gang whose leaders were involved in the murder of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.

According to the newspaper, the prosecutors and judges in question are under investigation for the 2001 release from prison of the Zemun Clan criminals.

“They [Zemun Clan members] recounted in detail how they sought to bring their friends and associates out of jail. They offered money, jewelry, real estate, expensive cars,” the unnamed sources said.

The sources added that none of the protected witnesses in the Đinđić assassination process had confirmed that Terzić took bribes to release gang leaders Dušan Spasojević and Mile Luković in 2001.  

Terzić has been remanded in custody for 30 days. His lawyer told reporters last week his client denied all the charges.

On Monday, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) challenged the arrest of Terzić by accusing Interior Minister Dragan Jočić of releasing the details of the case to several media outlets and journalists, “despite the fact most documents linked to the investigation against the former prosecutor were top secret.”

The aim of this was, according to the party, “to fabricate another media campaign against the LDP and its leader Čedomir Jovanović.”

“This document is full of inaccuracies and reeks of falsification. The first statement is false, the statement from former Interior Minister Dušan Mihajlović that Čedomir Jovanović pressured the courts to release members of the Zemun Clan,” the LDP said in a statement.

“Precisely this served as the basis of a media scandal aimed at Čedomir Jovanović and added to the pressures on Terzić,” the statement added.

The LDP claims that it possesses a written confirmation from Mihajlović himself that he never made such a statement.

The party has announced that it will send “proof that former prosecutor Rade Terzić was arrested in order to falsely incriminate Jovanović” to all state institutions.

Koštunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) reacted by saying that the LDP needs to submit its documents to the investigative bodies.

“The courts are taking all steps to get to the bottom of the background of the Đinđić murder, including who gave the order to free the prime minister’s murderers from prison,” the party stated.

The DSS added that Serbia is a country governed by the rule of law and that “the days when LDP leader Čedomir Jovanović was able to be an investigative judge, prosecutor and trial judge all at the same time, are long gone.”