Commission responds to Janjušević's claims

BELGRADE The Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists has provided details about claims concerning polygraph testing in the murder case of Milan Pantic. The Commission's explanation also concerns claims related to Zoran Janjusevic. Commission responds to Janjusevic's claims Namely, the daily Danas published an article detailing who refused a polygraph test and presented their findings that in the case of Pantic's murder, those included Zoran Janjusevic and Nemanja Kolesar. Janjusevic then denied this information and accused President of the Commission Veran Matic of providing "false information" for "personal reasons." For this reason the Commission issued an official clarification explainiing the manner in which it works, and denied the qualifications presented: The Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists is not concerned with probes. Preliminary probes are carried out by a working group composed of professional officers of the Serbian MUP, who are in some cases helped by members of the Security Intelligence Agency. The Commission does not decide on the manner in which the investigation is conducted, on who will be interviewed, and who will be offered a polygraph test. In their work the working group are completely autonomous and responsible for to the director of police who appointed them. The document Official Note, which was filed in the Criminal Police Directorate under KU: - 259/01-JA1460, from April 10, 2013, and made by the head of the working group, reads, among other things: "... Janjusevic presented his findings, in connection to which a note was made of the notification received from the public, KU 259-1." At 13:00 the interview was complete, the official note was read out for Janjusevic, to which he had no objections and which he duly signed, receiving a copy. After that, the head of the working group offered Janjusevic a polygraph test, which he declined, explaining that he had already presented all his information and that he had nothing else to add. This note is an official document of the Serbian Interior Ministry. From it is clear that Zoran Janjusevic refused a polygraph test. It also confirms that the president of the commission did not give a "false statement" for "personal reasons" and that this fact does not come from the Commission, but from the documents of the Serbian MUP. For that reason, clearly all the insinuations about the motives for the publication of the information referred to by Mr. Janjusevic have been eliminated. Previously, Janjusevic, reacting to the report published in the Danas newspaper, said that he responded to the police summons and talked about not having been a government employee at the time of the murder of Pantic in 2001, and about not having any connection with privatization of the cement plant new Popovac, which was done at the same time. "We concluded that I had been a bankruptcy trustee of the Belgrade shipyard. In further conversation, I explained that I encountered for the first time the issue of murders of journalists and other unsolved murders in Serbia when I became a member of the Council for State Security. The rest of the conversation was related to the work of the council and the council members," said Zoran Janjusevic. He added that the minutes taken by the MUP from that interview "contained no more than 15 sentences," that he was ready to submit them for review, and that "all this is a personal attack by Veran Matic" because of, as he said, "personal animosity." Verna Matic (B92, file) B92

Commission responds to Janjušević's claims

Namely, the daily Danas published an article detailing who refused a polygraph test and presented their findings that in the case of Pantić's murder, those included Zoran Janjušević and Nemanja Kolesar. Janjušević then denied this information and accused President of the Commission Veran Matić of providing "false information" for "personal reasons."

For this reason the Commission issued an official clarification explainiing the manner in which it works, and denied the qualifications presented:

The Commission for Investigating Murders of Journalists is not concerned with probes. Preliminary probes are carried out by a working group composed of professional officers of the Serbian MUP, who are in some cases helped by members of the Security Intelligence Agency. The Commission does not decide on the manner in which the investigation is conducted, on who will be interviewed, and who will be offered a polygraph test.

In their work the working group are completely autonomous and responsible for to the director of police who appointed them. The document Official Note, which was filed in the Criminal Police Directorate under KU: - 259/01-JA1460, from April 10, 2013, and made by the head of the working group, reads, among other things: "... Janjušević presented his findings, in connection to which a note was made of the notification received from the public, KU 259-1."

At 13:00 the interview was complete, the official note was read out for Janjušević, to which he had no objections and which he duly signed, receiving a copy.

After that, the head of the working group offered Janjušević a polygraph test, which he declined, explaining that he had already presented all his information and that he had nothing else to add.

This note is an official document of the Serbian Interior Ministry. From it is clear that Zoran Janjušević refused a polygraph test. It also confirms that the president of the commission did not give a "false statement" for "personal reasons" and that this fact does not come from the Commission, but from the documents of the Serbian MUP.

For that reason, clearly all the insinuations about the motives for the publication of the information referred to by Mr. Janjušević have been eliminated.

Previously, Janjušević, reacting to the report published in the Danas newspaper, said that he responded to the police summons and talked about not having been a government employee at the time of the murder of Pantić in 2001, and about not having any connection with privatization of the cement plant new Popovac, which was done at the same time.

"We concluded that I had been a bankruptcy trustee of the Belgrade shipyard. In further conversation, I explained that I encountered for the first time the issue of murders of journalists and other unsolved murders in Serbia when I became a member of the Council for State Security. The rest of the conversation was related to the work of the council and the council members," said Zoran Janjušević.

He added that the minutes taken by the MUP from that interview "contained no more than 15 sentences," that he was ready to submit them for review, and that "all this is a personal attack by Veran Matić" because of, as he said, "personal animosity."