Third Basic Prosecutor's Office: "Decision to remove Stojiljković Pomoriški from case arrived two days later"

The decision also stated that responsibility for the case had been transferred to the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade.

According to the Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the case had been handled entirely by the prosecutor assigned to it, who carried out the procedural actions and issued orders to locate and arrest the suspects.

The Chief Public Prosecutor herself had not taken any procedural action in the case.

Prosecutor's Office challenges grounds for recusal

"Nevertheless, she was removed from the case over actions she never took, simply because the defence lawyer representing suspect S. V. claimed that she had. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office repeated those allegations in its explanation of the decision," the statement said.

The office argued that determining who had actually handled the case would have required nothing more than reviewing the statements already submitted.

"Clearly, greater attention was paid to the defence's allegations," it added.

The Prosecutor's Office also questioned the reasoning used to justify the recusal decision.

"The fact that we acted before becoming aware of the recusal request, and subsequently requested an urgent ruling on it, was cited as justification for granting that request.

"It remains unclear how we were supposed to respond to a request of which the Higher Public Prosecutor, who now cites this fact, had not informed us," the statement said.

Decision described as unlawful

Chief Public Prosecutor Ivana Stojiljković Pomoriški considers the decision unlawful and intends to initiate proceedings before the relevant authorities to challenge its legality and establish responsibility.

The Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office expressed hope that attention would now return to the issue that prompted the investigation.

"We expect that the matter which led to the investigation will now finally be addressed," the statement said.

The office called on the First Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade to urgently resume proceedings, review the previously issued orders and take the necessary steps in connection with the suspected criminal offence of construction without a building permit.