Defense Ministry refuses to send documents to ombudsman

Defense Ministry refuses to send documents to ombudsman

Based on what article of the Law on the Army or any other law do members of the Military Police provide protection to the prime minister Gasic said that he was acting in line with the law, and that "as long as the pre-investigative procedures are ongoing" the documents are located at the prosecution.

"We cannot ask the prosecution to give us the documents so we can send them to Sasa Jankovic. He will receive them only when the prosecution approves it, in line with the law," he told the Belgrade-based daily Danas.

The documents in question would enable Jankovic to contact the two military policemen involved in the incident.

Previously, he urged Gasic to provide answers to his questions without delay and within 15 days at the latest.

After Gasic recently told parliament that Andrej Vucic was assigned military police escort "because he was on his way to a family lunch with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic," and that he signed the decision for the Cobra unit of the Serbian Army to provide protection for Vucic, Jankovic came out with the following questions:

• What was the exact task assigned to military policemen S.S. and S.J., who accompanied the prime minister's brother, and where was the advance group of the security located at the time of the event


• Did the two military police have the orders to break through the (police) cordon at the scene, or was their arrival announced to the police, who coordinated in the field, and are tasks such as that given to S.S. and S.J. carried out in the company of civilians


• Can closeness between security officers with the close surroundings of the person assigned protection to negatively influence the efficiency of the provided protection, and which military assignments related to providing security to persons include the carrying of pistols with bullets in the chamber


• Have disciplinary procedures been launched against S.S. and S.J. or any other Ministry of Defense employee because of the incident, and based on what article of the Law on VBA and VOA did VBA (Military Security Agency) members take witness statements and confiscate footage from security cameras installed on two nearby banks

Jankovic also asked Gasic to explain the fact that, according to the Interior Ministry's official documents sent to the ombudsman, one of the military policemen told his superior "over a mobile connection," speaking after the incident, "Boss, we screwed up, get us out."

Earlier this month Jankovic filed criminal complaints against the two military policemen for attacking Gendarmes during the incident, that coincided with the holding of the Pride Parade in Belgrade.

He said he joined the criminal complaint which the police, on the order of the prosecution, had already filed against seven Gendarmes, accusing them of torture and abuse after the clash, and added that the VBA failed to submit the documents he requested.

Jankovic also published MUP's internal control papers on the ombudsman's website, which state that the VBA took statements from citizens before the police had a chance to, and confiscated footage from security cameras.