Higher Public Prosecutor's Office speaks out after arrest of two police chiefs: Here are charges against them

The heads of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP), M.K., and the Crime Suppression Service, B.S., have been arrested on suspicion of abuse of office, while M.K. is additionally suspected of ill-treatment and torture, the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade announced.

Acting on the orders of the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, the head of the Criminal Police Directorate, M.K., and the head of the Crime Suppression Service, B.S., were arrested on suspicion of abusing their official positions. M.K. is also suspected of ill-treatment and torture.

According to the statement, M.K. and B.S. are suspected of having caused damage and seriously violated the rights of the injured party, former head of the Belgrade Police Department V. M., between May 12 and June 3, 2026, while serving as officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They allegedly did so by exceeding and abusing their official powers, as well as by failing to perform their official duties.

The allegations concern their conduct in connection with the investigation into the murder of A.N., which took place at Restaurant "27" on May 12, 2026.

According to the prosecution, there are grounds to suspect that on May 15, 2026, B.S. filed a criminal complaint against Saša V. for the murder of A. N., in violation of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. The complaint also named several other individuals, including V. M., accusing them of assisting an offender after the commission of a criminal offence and failing to report a crime and its perpetrator.

The prosecution claims that B.S. did so despite allegedly knowing that V. M. had left Restaurant "27" before the murder took place, accompanied by his security detail.

According to the statement, B.S. knew this from official records documenting information provided by five citizens, whose accounts indicated a different sequence of events from the one presented in the criminal complaint.

Those records reportedly showed that V. M. had left the restaurant before A.N. returned to the premises.

The prosecution also claims that B.S. failed to include in the criminal complaint information from security camera footage seized on May 14, which showed V. M. leaving the restaurant.

In addition, B.S. is suspected of failing to comply immediately with an order issued by the acting public prosecutor on May 17, requiring him to hand over hard drives and CDs containing video footage, as well as V. M.'s mobile phones, to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Group for examination and forensic analysis.

Instead, he allegedly handed over the evidence only on May 22, with the electronic devices improperly packed in two paper bags, according to the prosecution.

The statement also says that M.K. verbally authorized B.S. to file the aforementioned criminal complaint, despite being aware of its contents. This included information obtained through communications with the chief public prosecutor of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade concerning the handover of V. M.'s phones for forensic examination.

The prosecution says that the phones were not handed over despite several repeated orders from the acting prosecutor. They were delivered only on May 21, after the prosecutor contacted B.S. again and pointed out that the order had not been followed.

UKP Chief suspected of beating and torturing detainee

In addition to abuse of office, M.K. is also suspected of ill-treating and torturing N.L. at the premises of the Criminal Police Directorate on May 16, 2026, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

According to the prosecution, M.K., together with other police officers whose identities have not yet been established, initially struck N.L. in the head with open and closed fists. They then allegedly placed a hood over his head and suffocated him.

They subsequently removed his socks and beat the soles of his feet and his back with a belt, according to the allegations.

The prosecution says that N.L. sustained minor physical injuries, including bruising to his right lower limb and right foot.

The criminal complaint charges M.K. with abuse of office under Article 359 and ill-treatment and torture under Article 137 of the Criminal Code, while B.S. is charged with abuse of office.

Both suspects have been placed in police custody for up to 48 hours, within which time they are expected to be brought before the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade for questioning.