Prosecution decides not to detain former minister

BELGRADE Former Minister Oliver Dulic was interrogated for four hours on Tuesday by the Organized Crime Prosecutor, and then released. Flanked by his lawyers, Dulic arrived at noon, and told reporters when he exited that he left the building the way he had entered it - a free man. Prosecution decides not to detain former minister The former high ranking official declared himself and denied all the accusations against him, while the prosecution said there were no legal grounds to seek his arrest. This was concluded "based on the defense presented today by suspect Dulic, and all the collected evidence, above all the statements of other suspects in the case", Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljevic explained. Radisavljevic added that he would continue to work on the case in order to, in the next couple of days, "make a final decision on the criminal complaint that was filed by the Criminal Investigations Police". Oliver Dulic was summoned to on Tuesday at noon report to the Special Organized Crime Prosecution and make his statement as a suspect in the abuse of office case. The Serbian parliament on Monday stripped this former minister of environment, mining and spatial planning - now MP from the ranks of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) - of his immunity from prosecution. The parliament decision came on the request of the prosecution. Dulic, his former assistant Nebojsa Janjc, and acting director of public enterprise Putevi Srbije (Roads of Serbia), Zoran Drobnjak, are suspected of abusing their official position when permits were granted to Slovenian company Nuba Investment to lay optical cables along Serbia's roads. Dulic is a suspect in the case that is based on the most lenient article of the Criminal Code when it comes to abuse of office charges, and if put on trial and found guilty, he would be sentenced to a jail term of six months to five years. Addressing reporters on Monday, Dulic protested his innocence and described the case as "political persecution". Dulic evaded arrest on Saturday when he invoked his immunity, but later said he would go to the police voluntarily and no longer use his immunity from prosecution. Special Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljevic took the statements of Janjic and Drobnjak over the weekend. Neither men were held in custody. Radisavljevic explained that Drobnjak and Janjic are suspected of showing favoritism toward the Slovenian company, and that this concerned "the expediency and order in which the permits were issued": "According to the data collected by the Criminal Investigations Police, the permits were issued without first ensuring all the necessary conditions and agreement from the state organs and local self-government's pubic companies, and those across whose territory the optical network was placed. Those companies were denied the income that they were legally entitled to. The amount will be determined as the proceedings continue. It has also been determined that Nuba Invest received different treatment from the ministry when it came to the issuing of permits compared to all other investors. In this way Nuba was allowed to first build and start exploiting the optical network." Oliver Dulic is on Tuesday (Tanjug) B92

Prosecution decides not to detain former minister

The former high ranking official declared himself and denied all the accusations against him, while the prosecution said there were no legal grounds to seek his arrest.

This was concluded "based on the defense presented today by suspect Dulić, and all the collected evidence, above all the statements of other suspects in the case", Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević explained.

Radisavljević added that he would continue to work on the case in order to, in the next couple of days, "make a final decision on the criminal complaint that was filed by the Criminal Investigations Police".

Oliver Dulić was summoned to on Tuesday at noon report to the Special Organized Crime Prosecution and make his statement as a suspect in the abuse of office case.

The Serbian parliament on Monday stripped this former minister of environment, mining and spatial planning - now MP from the ranks of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) - of his immunity from prosecution.

The parliament decision came on the request of the prosecution.

Dulić, his former assistant Nebojša Janjć, and acting director of public enterprise Putevi Srbije (Roads of Serbia), Zoran Drobnjak, are suspected of abusing their official position when permits were granted to Slovenian company Nuba Investment to lay optical cables along Serbia's roads.

Dulić is a suspect in the case that is based on the most lenient article of the Criminal Code when it comes to abuse of office charges, and if put on trial and found guilty, he would be sentenced to a jail term of six months to five years.

Addressing reporters on Monday, Dulić protested his innocence and described the case as "political persecution".

Dulić evaded arrest on Saturday when he invoked his immunity, but later said he would go to the police voluntarily and no longer use his immunity from prosecution.

Special Organized Crime Prosecutor Miljko Radisavljević took the statements of Janjić and Drobnjak over the weekend. Neither men were held in custody.

Radisavljević explained that Drobnjak and Janjić are suspected of showing favoritism toward the Slovenian company, and that this concerned "the expediency and order in which the permits were issued":

"According to the data collected by the Criminal Investigations Police, the permits were issued without first ensuring all the necessary conditions and agreement from the state organs and local self-government's pubic companies, and those across whose territory the optical network was placed. Those companies were denied the income that they were legally entitled to. The amount will be determined as the proceedings continue. It has also been determined that Nuba Invest received different treatment from the ministry when it came to the issuing of permits compared to all other investors. In this way Nuba was allowed to first build and start exploiting the optical network."